Moroccan King Launches National "Ramadan 1445" Operation

Rabat, March 14 (TNA) King Mohammed VI, on Wednesday at the Yaacoub El Mansour District in Rabat, launched the national "Ramadan 1445" operation, initiated by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, benefiting one million households, or nearly 5 million people.

Highly significant during this blessed month, this generous action, which has become a tradition over the 25 years of its existence, reflects the constant High Royal solicitude towards socially vulnerable populations, and enshrines the values of humanity, solidarity, mutual aid and sharing, which characterize Moroccan society.

With a budget of 347 million dirhams, the "Ramadan 1445" operation will distribute 34,550 tonnes of food products (flour, milk, rice, oil, sugar, tomato paste, vermicelli, lentils and tea), with the aim of bringing aid and comfort to the most vulnerable social categories, notably widows, the elderly and people with disabilities.

For this 25th edition, 82,040 beneficiary households come from the three provinces of Al Haouz, Taroudant and Chichaoua, affected by the earthquake of September 8, 2023. The "Ramadan" operation has grown steadily in recent years, reaching 1,000,000 beneficiary households by 2023 (473,900 in 2017 and 600,000 in 2020), in 83 provinces and prefectures across the Kingdom, 74% of whom live in rural areas.

This nationwide operation, organized with the financial support of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, is in line with the humanitarian program run by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, which aims to provide support to those most in need, while promoting the culture of solidarity.

Thousands of people are mobilized for this operation, supported by social workers and volunteers at the 1,304 distribution points set up across the country. They will ensure that the food aid is handed over to the heads and representatives of the beneficiary families.

The implementation of this initiative is also subject to controls by two committees, one local and the other provincial, which monitor the supply of food to distribution centers, the identification of beneficiaries and the distribution of foodstuffs. In fact, the identification of beneficiaries is subject, as it is every year, to field work carried out by the local authorities, enabling them to assess the living conditions of these people and their current situation on the basis of socio-economic criteria.

The social services of the Royal Armed Forces, the Royal Gendarmerie, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports, the National Mutual Aid, the National Promotion, the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water, and local authorities are also lending their support to the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity to ensure the smooth running of this solidarity operation.

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA) are in charge of monitoring the quality of the food products distributed. Since its launch in 1998, the national food support operation has mobilized a total budget of over 2 billion dirhams, with the number of beneficiary families rising from 34,100 in 1998 to one million by 2023.

The "Ramadan 1445" operation thus adds to the various humanitarian actions and initiatives undertaken by the King Mohammed VI to promote a culture of solidarity and ensure inclusive, sustainable human development.