Rabat – The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved on Tuesday an additional funding package of nearly €118 million to support Morocco’s COVID-19 response.
The funding will go to the program for improving social protection implemented in Morocco (PAAPS-FA COVID-19), the bank said in a statement.
The funding is an extension of the Social Protection Improvement Support Programme (PAAPS) approved at the end of 2019 for nearly €183 million.
The program aims to support the upgrade of Morocco’s health infrastructure and further boost the country’s intervention capacities amid the health crisis.
“We are doing everything we can to help Morocco meet this unprecedented challenge,” AfDB’s Director General for North Africa Mohamed El Azizi said.
He said that the bank’s priority is to support Morocco’s health response in the face of the pandemic.
“This effort will continue in the longer term to strengthen the resilience of the country’s health system to new crises.”
The funding will help Morocco coto acquire 666 additional resuscitation beds to reach a total capacity of 1,350 equipped beds.
The sum will also allow Morocco to strengthen its screening capacity and “provide pharmaceutical products and devices.”
The additional budget will also go towards upgrading technical platforms at 78 hospital emergency departments.
Leila Farah Mohaddem, the resident representative of AfDB in Morocco, said that with more beds, ventilators, screening tests, and emergency services upgrades, this project will help to further improve patient care.
“Our response is global and also covers the economic and social dimensions. At the end of May, the bank provided 264 million euros to support the pandemic response support program in order to mitigate the economic and social repercussions of the crisis,” she said.
The top banker said in October that Morocco is a true strategic partner for AfDB.
The situation of COVID-19 is worsening in Morocco, which now confirms thousands of cases daily.
On November 4, Morocco confirmed 5,745 cases, 82 deaths, and 3,977 recoveries. Both the daily case and fatality counts represented new records, for the second consecutive day.
The total number of COVID-19 cases reached 235,318, including 193,886 recoveries and 982 deaths.
The number of active cases reached 37,442.
