Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Inmates in 20 prisons across Morocco are contributing to national efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prisoners in these detention establishments across Morocco produce 20,000 face masks per day, a joint statement from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Morocco’s General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) said on June 17.
The statement said that the prisons involved in the campaign are equipped with the necessary equipment to help contribute.
The UNDP supports the project financially as part of its cooperation with the DGAPR.
The goal of the partnership is to contribute to the “prevention of COVID-19 by equipping workshops for manufacture of protective masks,” as well as empowering detainees by training them in new tailoring techniques, as requested by the labor market.
Beyond helping to meet market demand for PPE during the health crisis, the project seeks to prepare the inmates for reintegration post-detention.
The production phase is subject to controls and preventive measures to meet the conditions required by national and international health standards and supervisory departments.
The DGAPR launched the initiative in May, citing support from the Ministry of Industry.
Following the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Morocco, the ministry announced the decision to have local textile units manufacture face masks.
Morocco also allowed textile factories to export the masks on the condition that the national demand is supplied sufficiently.
Moroccan companies export the face masks to 11 European countries, including France, and have also begun exporting masks to states on other continents.
The country manufactures more than 10 million facemasks per day.
Morocco made the wearing of masks in public mandatory on April 7. The country then launched a flagship project to produce masks locally to meet citizens’ needs.
The government made the masks available at MAD 0.80 ($0.08) to ensure access for all Moroccans.
