Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
MOROCCO
FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999 Actual Estimate Request Development Assistance.............. $12,000,000 $8,000,000 $8,781,000 Child Survival and Disease.......... 3,200,000 2,300,000 3,000,000 P.L.480 Title II........................... 4,047,000 --- ---
IntroductionThe USAID/Morocco program supports the following U.S. foreign policy and strategic goals: regional stability, economic prosperity through broad-based economic growth, and expanded trade markets. It also addresses critical transnational issues of stabilized population growth, improved maternal and child health, and environmental protection.
Development Challenge
Morocco is a country of contrasts and dualistic development. Morocco has 27 million people of which 35% are under 15 years of age, potentially leading to an explosion in the population growth rate within the next 10 years. The average population growth rate, despite recent declines, is still 2.1%, which will double the country's population in 33 years. Population thus affects the government's ability to provide services, as well as affects the country's natural resource base and productivity.
Debilitating urban and rural poverty coexists alongside modern urban centers. Morocco's per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was estimated at $1,280 in 1996, making it a lower-middle-income (LMI) country. However, economic growth since the end of the structural adjustment program in 1992 has lagged to an average 1.3% owing to droughts and slow sectoral reform. In 1997, the growth rate is estimated to have been a negative 2.2%. At the same time, the urban labor force is growing at 7% annually, with unemployment nearing 20%. Two-thirds of the poor live in rural areas and an estimated 5.6 million people (22% of the population) lives at or below the poverty level.
Illiteracy continues to be a problem with 51% of the adult population considered illiterate (compared to 19% for LMI countries and 45% for the MENA region). Natural resources are scarce; the most significant, phosphate and its derivatives, accounts for most of its export earnings. Only 20% of the land is arable with agricultural production dependent on irrigation because of recurring droughts.
Morocco must face four challenges in the coming decade: 1) a growing population; 2) water scarcity; 3) job scarcity, and 4) access to basic education. An overarching development challenge is assuring equitable distribution of economic opportunities and services within the country. Rural areas lag far behind urban centers in providing adequate water and sanitation, housing education, economic growth opportunities, and social services.
USAID programs are helping Morocco overcome these challenges. USAID supports Morocco's efforts to reduce fertility and improve the health of children and women. The investment made in building institutional sustainability through technical assistance, training and material has had demonstrable results--the infant mortality rate has dropped from 82.4 per thousand (1987) to 36 per thousand (1997). By the end of FY 1999, USAID plans to graduate from involvement in population and health services allowing the private sector, government, and other donors to sustain the investments made to date.
Recent USAID initiatives in basic education, particularly for girls, and microenterprise will assist Morocco in addressing its education and job needs. USAID is supporting the Government's policy reform agenda and improving the enabling environment for small and medium scale enterprises, by
increasing credit available to small and micro-entrepreneurs and supporting institutional development
through training and technical assistance. A microfinance facility, established in 1997, has outpaced USAID and government projections for microenterprise credit and loan repayment.
Water scarcity is a critical constraint affecting Morocco's long-term development. Therefore, USAID is continuing its focus on improved water resources management in the agricultural, urban, and industrial sectors. The program is demonstrating results--annual water usage in one major irrigation scheme has been reduced by 13 million cubic meters.
Other Donors
Donor assistance to Morocco totals about $1 billion per year. An estimated 80% of donor assistance, mostly in the form of loans, loan guarantees, or commercial credit, finances infrastructure development (roads, ports, dams, railroads, electricity, water, housing, sewerage, and telecommunications). The largest donor programs in Morocco are those of the World Bank, the European Union, France, the African Development Bank, and Spain. U.S. assistance (grants and housing guarantees) accounts for about 10% of total grant assistance. Nevertheless, USAID remains one of the most visible and active donors, and plays a far more significant role than its program size would indicate, through its leveraging of other donor resources and demonstrating successful U.S. development models. USAID is perceived as the leading donor in microenterprise development and finance, water resource management, and family planning.
FY 1999 Program
USAID's strategy for FY 1999 focuses on areas critical to Morocco's sustainable development. Support for improved water resources management in the agricultural, urban, and industrial sectors will reduce toxic emissions, improve the living environment, reduce water usage, reduce surface water pollution, and provide modern sewerage and potable water systems to more of Morocco's citizens. The basic education activity will increase the participation of rural girls in primary schooling helping them to address their development problems. Activities in small and micro- enterprises will improve access to credit and markets for the poor and will broaden the base of stakeholders in the economic growth process.
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: Morocco
TITLE AND NUMBER: Reduced Fertility and Improved Health of Children Under Five and Women of Child-bearing Age, 608-SO01
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1999: $2,000,000 DA; $3,000,000 CSD
I NITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 1999
Purpose: To reduce fertility and improve the health of children under five and women of childbearing age. The major focus is to achieve these results by assuring sustainable institutions in the public and private sector which are capable of maintaining key maternal and child health programs in the absence of significant USAID resources.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID initiated support for family planning and maternal and child health (FP/MCH) in Morocco in 1971, and since has become the Government of Morocco's (GOM) principal external partner in this program. As a result of USAID assistance to the Moroccan family planning program, the population of Morocco today is 8.8 million fewer people than it otherwise would have been. U.S.-Moroccan collaboration has resulted in an increase in contraceptive prevalence from 42% in 1992 to 53% in 1996; and a concomitant decline in total fertility of 31%, from 4.8 in 1987 to 3.3 children per woman in 1996. USAID's assistance also has supported GOM efforts to increase childhood immunizations from 76% to 85% since 1992, and to promote increasing private sector participation in family planning activities, with social marketing of contraceptives reducing the costs of contraceptives available to the consumer and resulting in approximately 462,195 couple-years of protection achieved through private sector sales of contraceptives in 1996. Despite this significant progress, constraints to access and use of these services continue, and are shown by large disparities in all health statistics between rural and urban populations; limited use of maternity services including prenatal, delivery and postpartum care, resulting in high rates of maternal mortality; and high child and infant mortality due to diarrheal disease and acute respiratory infections compounded by micronutrient deficiencies. Challenges include ensuring that FP/MCH services are readily accessible, that quality is sufficient to attract and retain clients and promote improved health practices, and that populations are informed to use services appropriately. Enhancing sustainability of health service delivery has become the priority focus of Strategic Objective 1 (SO1) during the past two years, as USAID prepares to end bilateral assistance to the health/population sector by the end of 1999. USAID/Morocco's health/population sector Transition Plan emphasizes strengthening institutional capabilities required for sustainable programs. Thus USAID supports in-country, inter-institutional partnerships to support capacity-building within the FP/MCH service delivery system. Most notable among these efforts are the involvement of schools of medicine and nursing in public health through the introduction of family planning/reproductive health curricula in basic medical and nurse training programs, and the transfer of management expertise located within Morocco's School of Public Health (INAS) to improve field program management. In addition, specific areas of USAID support -- for example, the sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the voluntary surgical contraception (VSC) programs -- are being systematically transferred to and institutionalized within Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) structures which now have the required expertise and resources. USAID is also supporting a number of important activities in the private sector in order to diversify access to essential FP/MCH services.
Description: USAID focuses on increasing use of quality FP/MCH services and on their longer-term sustainability through four activity areas: 1) establishment of greater access to quality FP/MCH services responsive to client demand; 2) improvement of the policy environment to support expansion of FP/MCH services; 3) reinforcement of the institutional capacity to manage FP/MCH programs in a decentralized demand-driven mode; and 4) promotion of increased diversification of the resource base for financing the delivery of FP/MCH services. Support is channeled primarily through the MOPH, to strengthen the ability of the system to provide an expanded range of services, with emphasis on long-term methods of family planning, integrated child health and quality safe motherhood services. Assistance is also provided in the areas of policy reform; use of data for decision-making; developing services that are responsive to client needs; and assuring private sector participation in preventive health care service delivery and family planning services. The GOM has been assuming an increasing percentage of contraceptive and local cost requirements for the FP/MCH program, with the intention that all USAID bilateral support for contraceptive procurement will end in December 1999.
Host Country and Other Donors: For the last three decades, USAID has been the lead donor in family planning in Morocco, and has been an important contributor to MCH activities. Other lead donors in the health sector include the European Union (EU), which is assuming an increasingly significant role in the areas of health and population, supporting health sector reform, family planning, HIV/STD programs and safe motherhood. UNFPA is an important donor in the area of population, including Information, Education and Communications (IE&C) activities, safe motherhood initiatives and advocacy programs. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is an important donor in child survival, working in two provinces on community approaches to child survival. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides support for AIDS control, public health training, communicable diseases and epidemiology. The World Bank has two active health sector loans, largely for infrastructure development, and a health sector reform loan in design. The African Development Bank also has health sector loans, particularly for essential drugs.
The MOPH continues to develop national plans and strategies for the sector, for which it seeks donor support. MOPH contributions include infrastructure, personnel, operating costs, pharmaceutical products, health facilities, etc. FP/MCH are priorities for the sector, serving as "engines" that promote service and systems development in related areas. The GOM is currently financing 56% of all USAID-GOM program costs.
Beneficiaries: Children under five years and married women of child-bearing age in Morocco represent approximately 28% (7.6 million) of Morocco's population of 27 million. USAID-supported programs, which operate at the national level, are reaching these beneficiaries in numerous ways.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements most activities through a U.S. consulting firm (John Snow International), but important sub-activities are being carried out by numerous USAID health sector cooperating agencies.
Major Results Indicators Baseline Target (1992) (1999) - Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (1) 4.0 3.0 - Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) (2) 57.0 52.0 - Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) (3) 41.5 58.0 - Proportion of FP/MCH program operating 33.0 83.0 costs financed by GOM (%)(1) TFR: Estimated number of children born to Moroccan women aged 15 to 49 years.
(2) IMR: Estimated number of deaths of children aged 0-11 months per 1,000 live births.
(3) CPR: Percentage of married women of child-bearing age (15-49) who are using a
contraceptive method at the time of the survey.
(Source: Demographic and Health Survey, 1992)
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: Morocco
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Water Resources Management in the Agricultural, Urban and Industrial Sectors, 608-SO02
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1999: $3,755,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003
Purpose: To improve Moroccan water resources management practices and systems in the agricultural, urban and industrial sectors.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: With water demand expected to exceed supply by 2020, improved management of water resources is key to Morocco's future sustainable development. USAID's programs support improved water management in the agricultural, industrial, and urban sectors. Since its initiation in 1995, this Strategic Objective (SO2) has shown significant achievements: (a) Improved system-level irrigation management, as well as level-basin irrigation technologies, have demonstrated water savings in one of Morocco's largest irrigation perimeters, which is now seen as a model for the national irrigation system. Irrigated agriculture is responsible for nearly 90% of Morocco's water use. (b) Public participation in irrigation management has expanded rapidly in the past year to include a significantly more important role for water-user associations in local decision-making. (c) Environmental audits have reduced toxic emissions from the tannery sector. Clean technology activities will continue to reduce surface water pollution in targeted areas, and to improve conditions for both workers and the public. (d) Under USAID's urban environmental programs, modern sewerage and potable water systems have been brought cumulatively to over 1,000,000 people (70% of whom are below median income) as of 1996, with indirect benefits such as reduced seasonal flooding and related water-borne diseases for an additional 225,000 low income people over the last decade.
Description: The Strategic Objective activities include: Water Resources Sustainability (WRS), Urban and Environmental Services (UES), Urban and Environment Credit Program (UE), and Tadla Resources Management (TRM). The WRS activity focuses on policy and institutional strengthening, with pilot activities demonstrating improved technologies relating to erosion control, urban waste water treatment and reuse for agriculture, and reduction of heavy metal-laden effluents from the tannery industry in Fes. Activities were first initiated in 1996, with feasibility studies and environment assessments for three pilot activities completed in 1997 and implementation planned for 1998.
The UES activity, started in 1996, works with national institutions, local governments and a citizens' group on improving environmental services delivery, strengthening key urban development institutions, and providing basic environmental infrastructure, such as sewers, potable water and sanitary landfills. UES also provides technical and institutional analysis services in support of the current $100 million Moroccan Housing Guarantee program. Owing to unexpected funding shortfalls, all UES activities will necessarily be completed by FY 1999, and the breadth of initiatives will be decreased correspondingly.
The TRM activity was initiated in 1994. It concentrates assistance in the irrigated agriculture sector for the promotion of water savings through system-level and on-farm water-use efficiency improvements, water quality improvements through promoting integrated pest and fertilizer management technologies, and strengthening of participation by farmer water-user groups in decision-making related to water management.
Host Country and Other Donors: The World Bank supports complementary programs in irrigated agriculture and municipal finance. They are planning a new loan which will be able to take advantage
of USAID program models for pollution reduction and water savings. European donors -- especially the EC, France and Germany -- are increasing their support for this sector. The host country contributes at least 25% of the total cost of the USAID interventions.
Beneficiaries: Beneficiaries range from farmers, to urban residents (in particular poorer families), and workers in polluting industries (such as tanneries). Families benefitting from all aspects of the program currently total over 120,000 (600,000 people), with a potential for several times that amount over the next four years.
Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Numerous U.S. firms and local organizations, including NGOs, are involved in implementing this activity. U.S. firms include Chemonics, Environmental Alternatives Unlimited, and Technical Support Services as principal contractors. Subcontractors include various U.S. and local firms.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target (1994) (1999) Amount of water pollution in target areas 100% 90% reduction in chromium (chromium and nitrates) 25% reduction in nitrates Volume of water savings in target 0 million m³/yr 70 million m³/yr areas Number of farmers in viable water-user 200 10,000 associations effectively managing water resources at the local level Percent of poor urban household units con- 35% 70% nected to sewerage and potable water Number of municipalities/population with 2/600,000 11/2,100,000 improved waste water treatment, garbage collection, landfill management, green- spaces and recycling services
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: Morocco
TITLE AND NUMBER: Expanded Base of Stakeholders in the Economy, Targeting People of Below Median Income, 608-SO03
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1999; $1,000,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003
Purpose: To provide greater economic opportunities for the poor, by expanding the base of stakeholders in a growing economy, targeting people of below-median income.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID assistance serves as an important catalyst promoting an enabling market economy, business environment, competitiveness of employment-generating firms, and access to financial resources of micro- and small-scale enterprises. Activities have focused on policy, institutional, and regulatory reform, to stimulate micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprise development, access to credit for entrepreneurs; agricultural product, market, and export diversification; and low-cost housing construction. USAID's policy dialogue has contributed to several important reforms. These include simplifying the business registration process, passing a law for protecting agricultural intellectual property rights (promulgated in 1997), and proposing a law to ease the legal requirements and taxes for non-governmental micro-credit associations. Through USAID's efforts, the cost of road transport of agricultural exports has been reduced by 20 percent. Micro-lending operations were initiated in three cities in 1997 and are rapidly expanding, reaching over 3,000 poor clients in 1997.
Other program achievements include helping Moroccan firms export $101 million worth of horticultural and other products, which in turn generated 20,800 person-years of employment (46% women and predominantly people from lower-income strata). Through the housing activities, about 112,000 urban households of below-median income have become homeowners, creating an additional estimated 71,000 person-years of employment. Some 28 small business associations have been strengthened as advocates for member interests, policy reforms, and new market opportunities.
Description: The Strategic Objective currently comprises three activities: (1) New Enterprise Development (NED); (2) Morocco Agribusiness Promotion (MAP); and (3) Microenterprise Finance (MFA). The establishment of a pilot micro-lending program in 1997 helped stimulate the creation of additional micro-lending associations, and is encouraging traditional banks to develop banking services for microentrepreneurs. The second phase of the activity will be launched in 1998, opening three more branch offices in other cities and testing the possibility of on-lending other donors' funds. The NED activity assists small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and has promoted several reform initiatives, including creating a one-stop business registration center, a simplified tax reporting format, and an association law to expand the NGO movement serving disadvantaged Moroccans. NED has a loan guarantee component which will provide working capital credit to several hundred SMEs that would otherwise not have access to this key business resource. The MAP activity continues to expand markets and create jobs for the poor within Moroccan horticultural growing, processing and exporting firms, and is focusing on strengthening key institutions and regulatory functions during its final year (ends June 1998). Through housing loan guaranties and leveraging of private sector financing, USAID is providing squatter families access to service, titled housing lots, and is upgrading urban environmental conditions for the urban poor in selected communities.
Host Country and Other Donors: Through separate activity agreements, the Government of Morocco will finance $15 million, and the private sector $16 million, of the total costs associated with the MAP, NED and MFA activities. The Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank are using the MAP activityas a model for the Bank's agro-industrial project which is in the pre-implementation phase. The European Union supports small business services and has pledged 30 million ECUs for microenterprise. Its projects are designed to complement USAID's micro- and new enterprise activities. Spain provides limited funds targeted to NGO development and support. One U.S. NGO -- Catholic Relief Services -- implements microenterprise development activities in Morocco.
Beneficiaries: The principal beneficiaries of the activities under this SO are poor people, both rural and urban, who gain employment opportunities, low-cost housing, and access to financial resources. Micro- and small-scale entrepreneurs acquire improved access to credit and other business development services. Private employers of all sizes, especially agribusinesses, benefit from enhanced productivity and opportunities to compete in international markets, and Moroccan consumers benefit from increased availabilities of food products and improved food quality and safety standards.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: The primary contractors for these activities include: Development Alternatives, Inc., the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA/FAS), the University of Minnesota, Chemonics International, and Volunteers in Technical Assistance. Numerous subcontractors also contribute to implementation of these activities.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target (1993) (1999) Person-years of employment for below-median income people 16,496 121,628 Increased number of below-median income urban households owning homes 48,500 160,000 Business licenses issued to small and medium-sized enterprises 16,000 152,557 Number of microenterprises receiving loans 128 12,000
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: Morocco
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased Basic Educational Attainment among Girls in Selected Rural Areas, 608-SPO04
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1999; $2,026,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003
Purpose: To increase the participation (access and retention) of rural girls in primary schooling through a series of innovative pilot activities at the local, regional and national levels.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: In 1996, USAID began helping the Ministry of National Education (MNE) to test ways of improving retention of rural girls during primary school. In Morocco, the school enrollment rate for rural girls is a dismal 22% (50.4% for rural boys). Of the minority of rural girls who enroll in primary school, only four out of ten complete the fifth year. The MNE views USAID's technical leadership in this sector as critical to providing credibility to their strategy for the improvement of rural primary education. USAID plays the role of lead donor in terms of in-country presence and use of international experience to identify innovative interventions which will have visibility and impact in pilot rural areas. Achievements to date include: the launch of the MNE strategy, improvement of teacher training and classroom dynamics in 20 pilot schools in five provinces, and the completion of agreements between the MNE and community leaders for the promotion of girls' education.
Description: By the year 2000, this Special Objective (SPO4) will have formulated and validated a replicable model of interventions for improving primary education for girls in rural areas through institutional strengthening and capacity-building, policy reform, and greater community participation. In a second phase (2001-2003), the model will be extended to schools in up to nine additional provinces. USAID assistance supports: (1) the improvement of classroom dynamics through training of teachers and administrators in multi-grade teaching and curricula adaptation; (2) interventions to strengthen MNE capacity at the provincial and national levels to design, manage, evaluate and replicate the model; (3) policy reform initiatives which target the MNE management information system, primary education budget, rural teachers' incentives, and decentralized decision-making; and (4) greater involvement of local communities, private sector entities, and non-governmental organizations in girls' education.
Host Country and Other Donors: The MNE initiated monthly coordination meetings to ensure that all donors' activities conform to the strategy and that there is no duplication of effort or waste of resources. The host country will finance at least 25% of all program-related costs, including manpower costs associated with management, monitoring and evaluation of pilot interventions. The expansion of primary school reforms beyond the pilot areas to the national level will be funded in its entirety by the GOM. The GOM and the World Bank signed a loan agreement for a Social Priorities Program in September 1996, which includes an important basic education infrastructure component ($54 million). USAID's assistance package was prepared in close collaboration with the World Bank. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the French and Spanish cooperation agencies have modest programs that support elements of the MNE strategy for rural education.
Beneficiaries: In Morocco, there are about 2.5 million girls of primary school age. Approximately 1.3 million of these girls live in rural areas and are directly affected by the weaknesses of the rural primary school environment.
Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Current contractors for ongoing activities include AMIDEAST, Management Systems International and Creative Associates Incorporated International (all have U.S. subcontractors). The principal grantee is the Ministry of National Education.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target (1992) (1999) Percentage of total number of eligible 22.3% 35% rural girls enrolled in primary school in selected rural areas Retention rate for rural girls through 39.6% 50% the sixth year Repetition rate for rural girls, grades 1-6 12% 8% (1996) Percentage of girls who complete 8.8% 20% grades 1-6_______________________________________________
(Note: The above baselines are the latest data available at the national level. Both baselines and targets are provisional, pending the establishment of a data collection system in targeted areas.)
MOROCCO
FY 1999 PROGRAM SUMMARY
(in thousands of dollars)
USAID Strategic and Special Objectives Economic Growth & Agriculture Population and Health Environment Democracy Human Capacity Development Humanitarian Assistance
Total1. Reduced Fertility and Improved Health in Children Under Five and Women of Child-Bearing Age
- DA
- CSD
2,000
3,000
2,000
3,0002. Improved Water Resources Management in the Agricultural, Urban and Industrial Sectors
- DA
3,755
3,755
3. Expanded Base of Stakeholders in the Economy, Targeting People of Below -Median Income
- DA
1,000
1,000
4. Increased Basic Educational Attainment for Rural Girls in Selected Rural Areas
- DA
2,026
2,026
Total
DA
CSD
1,000
0
2,000
3,000
3,755
0
0
0
2,026
0
0
0
8,781
3,000
USAID Mission Director : Michael Farbman
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