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Morocco
EXAMPLES OF OUR IMPACT
- Nearly 7,000 Moroccans participated in a dialogue with local authorities and NGOs, resulting in the creation of income-generating activities.
- An innovative USAID-supported boarding school program for rural girls has reduced their drop-out rate to 1 percent, compared with 7 percent at the national level.
- One USAID agriculture program has generated about $84 million in sales and investments in targeted agriculture and agribusiness value chains since 2005.
CONTACTS
Mission Director
John Groarke
American Embassy/Rabat
PSC 74, Box 022
APO AE 09718
Tel: 212-37-63-2010
Morocco Desk Officer
Christopher Kisco
Tel: (202) 712-1027
Email: ckisco@usaid.gov
USAID is addressing the problems of both in-school and out-of-school youth to make education and training more relevant to their needs for both employment and daily living. (Photo: USAID/Morocco)
Overview
Morocco is the United States’ oldest friend in the Middle East and North Africa and is recognized today as a major non-NATO ally. Since 1957, the U.S. Government and the Government of Morocco have worked together to make real and substantial improvements in the lives of Moroccan citizens.
USAID has achieved sustainable results, most notably in education (improving basic eduation for more then 270,000 children), economic growth (reducing the time needed to register a business from 60 to 11 days), and democracy and governance (facilitating an increase in the percentage of women in elected office from less than 0.5 percent to over 12 percent).
Morocco still faces many complex challenges, including persistent unemployment and a lack of education and employment opportunities for youth. In 2009, USAID launched a new strategy using the successes of the past to continue helping to build a well-governed, democratic, and prosperous Morocco that meets the needs of its people, especially youth.
Programs
Economic Growth
Sustained economic growth is critical if Morocco is to absorb new entrants to the workforce. USAID’s economic growth program focuses on improving Morocco’s economic competitiveness by removing barriers to trade and investment and supporting key policy reforms that allow for sustained economic growth. The program also works to improve the capacity of key government institutions to implement these policies. USAID supports public-private partnerships to promote workforce development opportunities, especially for youth.
USAID promotes increased agricultural growth and productivity by supporting key water management and agriculture policies, improving the ability of Moroccan government institutions to implement water/agriculture policies, and increasing private sector participation in agriculture and water management reforms. One USAID program has generated about $84 million (650 million dirhams) in sales and investments in targeted agriculture and agribusiness value chains since 2005.
Investing In People
With USAID assistance, Morocco’s administrative regions are making education more relevant to young people’s lives. U.S. assistance targets in-school youth through improvements to education aimed at the crucial middle school years, in an effort to enhance educational attainment and reduce the number of youth who drop out of school. One USAID program helped local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) create a network of boarding schools for more than 800 rural middle school girls. Among girls in the program, the drop-out rate decreased to less than 1 percent, compared with 7 percent at the national level.
USAID’s education program also assists youth who have never had access to formal education or who have left the formal education system before completion. It focuses on providing out-of-school youth, ages 15-24, with access to educational opportunities that support their full and productive participation in society. This includes basic education and life skills, enhanced by vocational training that is offered through public-private partnerships.
Governing Justly and Democratically
USAID’s democracy and governance programs are built around citizen participation in civil society, political parties, local governance, and the justice sector. Each of these areas offers opportunities to engage youth, as well as other segments of society, in order to bring a broader array of groups into public life. More effective representation of citizens’ concerns and increased accountability in the justice system, combined with improved transparency and efficiency at the local level, will lead to a more democratic and participatory system of governance.
USAID endeavors to engage Morocco’s youth in local government decision making, political party activities, and civil society; to establish a regular dialogue between civil society and the government; to make local government more transparent, accountable, and effective; and to ensure that political parties better represent citizen concerns.
Citizens’ participation in the management of local affairs has become one of the top priorities for Morocco. USAID has contributed to this process by encouraging the participation of nearly 7,000 people in identifying local priorities along with NGOs and local authorities in the south of Morocco. This has resulted in the creation of income-generating activities for women and low-income populations.
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