Rabat – Despite national efforts to protect children, Morocco still faces major challenges that require stronger cooperation and a more unified approach, said Minister of Solidarity, Social Inclusion, and Family, Naïma Ben Yahya, during a national meeting on child protection held Monday in Sale.
Speaking at the opening of the event, titled “Child Protection: Local Implementation and Quality of Services,” and organized with support from UNICEF, the minister said that challenges remain in many areas.
These include improving prevention programs, better coordination among services, and making sure local actors take full responsibility in carrying out the national child protection plan.
Ben Yahya also pointed to issues related to limited human and financial resources, the need to strengthen civil society’s role, and the importance of creating an integrated digital system to track children under protection.
She noted the growing threat of violence against children, especially online abuse, and said there is a pressing need for more research and data on children’s issues.
To address these problems, especially those faced by institutions caring for children in vulnerable situations, the minister announced that the government is working on a plan to establish a National Agency for Children in Need of Protection. This new agency would improve institutional support and ensure better governance and quality services for children.
Morocco ranked 54th out of 194 countries worldwide in the 2024 Kids Rights Index, with a score of 0.776, placing it second among Maghreb countries, just behind Tunisia.
The index evaluates countries based on their commitment to children’s rights across five core areas: life, health, education, protection, and enabling environment. When climate change considerations are included as a sixth experimental domain, Morocco’s ranking drops to 73rd with a score of 0.65.
