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Rabat- The Moroccan phosphate giant OCP Group has made important progress in its support for, and hiring of, people with disabilities.
In support of the United Nations’ fourth Sustainable Development Goal — quality education — OCP opened medical and social centers for people with disabilities, such as an EBS center for children with special needs of employees and nearby communities.
Internally, the company also aims to build a disability-friendly workplace. To this end, OCP offers internships, local partnerships, and sponsorships for people with disabilities, matching their skills and qualifications to suitable opportunities.
In 2021, the company provided assistance allowances to 1,000 employees with disabilities to help them attain specific medical needs and afford special care expenses, according to the company’s Annual Sustainability Report.
The advances follow a national trend in which the number of Moroccans benefitting from support programs across the country has almost quadrupled from 2015 to 2020, a representative from the Ministry of Solidarity highlighted last year.
Morocco is one of 185 countries that ratified the United Nations’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The landmark treaty outlines general principles such as respect, non-discrimination, inclusion, equality, and accessibility. State parties including Morocco submit progress reports once every four years.
In the country, 6.8% of Moroccans are disabled, equivalent to one person in every four families, efforts toward inclusion are paramount and incomplete. Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) found that 70% of Moroccans with disabilities are illiterate compared to around 2% nationally, and 94% are economically inactive.
As such, the government has been working to promote the rights of people with disabilities, including through two 2020 agreements to expand access to education and the job market.
In line with the Moroccan government’s recruitment of 400 people with special needs across its ministries last year, OCP is also expanding its hiring efforts, pledging that 2% of recruitment will be for qualified people with disabilities by 2030.
December 3 marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
