The national food support operation “Ramadan 1444”, launched on this second day of the holy month of Ramadan by HM King Mohammed VI, is the concretization on the ground of the noble values of solidarity and sharing that animate the Moroccan people and the Sovereign’s will to make it an effective tool for social cohesion.
This operation, which blows its 24th candle this year, has become over time an annual occasion that has taken a significant place in Morocco as a major event aimed primarily at anchoring the action of solidarity as a behavior and culture, but also to mitigate the financial burden on the poor during this blessed month.
It is an action of generosity, which, like the previous operations, consists in bringing an endowment of food products to people living in precarious situations, especially widows, the elderly and people with disabilities.
This year, the Ramadan operation, which mobilized 390 million dirhams, is distinguished by the increase, in accordance with the High Royal Instructions, of the number of beneficiaries, but also of the number of products that compose this food aid.
Indeed, they are one million households, or about 5 million people, living in 83 provinces and prefectures of the Kingdom, which will benefit from the “Ramadan 1444” operation, against 600,000 households in the previous edition.
These people, 77% of whom live in rural areas, will also benefit this year from a food aid whose composition has been enriched by new products, including rice and milk.
It now includes nine products: 10 kg of flour, 5 liters of cooking oil, 4 kg of sugar, 1 kg of lentils, 1 kg of vermicelli, 850 gr of tomato paste, 850 gr of tea, 6 liters of UHT milk and 5 kg of rice.
Initiated by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, this operation is part of a medical-humanitarian program, which covers a broad spectrum of commitments, including the improvement of health services for the benefit of poor and isolated populations, food support, socio-medical support, field support and emergency humanitarian assistance.
This humanitarian program based on the principles of mutual aid, mobilization and proximity, includes, in addition to Operation Ramadan, the organization of mobile medical caravans, the reception of Moroccans residing abroad (Operation Marhaba), as well as the assistance of households from isolated villages and mountainous areas “Operation Cold Weather”.
The implementation of this operation, initiated in partnership with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs, is strictly monitored by two operational committees, one local and the other provincial, which monitor the supply of distribution centers, the identification of beneficiaries and the distribution of foodstuffs in the field.
Similarly, quality and performance controls are carried out upstream of the operation via the quality control of food products carried out by the National Office of Food Safety.
The Professional Grouping of Banks in Morocco and the General Treasury of the Kingdom also assist the Foundation by contributing to the control of the operation’s financial aspects.
The Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, under the impetus of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, is multiplying its initiatives to fight against all forms of precariousness and poverty, being aware that a global development cannot be achieved while some segments of society do not enjoy the conditions of a dignified life.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse