Over 431,000 widows with 158,000 children in both urban and rural areas benefited from direct social aid, Mustapha Baitas, Minister Delegate and Government spokesperson, said in a press briefing held in Rabat.
The royal initiative provides widows with a minimum of 500 MAD in direct financial support, set to increase annually to reach 400 MAD per child by 2026.
“The government has optimized the application process for direct social assistance through the Unified Social Registry, enabling widows without parental custody to receive benefits,” Baitas stated.
He added that this privilege was inaccessible under the previous system.
The revised benefit range for families with three or more children in school is now between 500 and 1,158 MAD, up from the 350 to 1,050 MAD previously offered. The allocation is projected to grow, rising to 1,233 MAD by 2025 and 1,308 MAD by 2026, based on the number of children.
“260,000 widows in rural areas and 171,000 in urban areas benefited from the aid, as did 346,000 widows without children, of whom 124,000 live in urban areas and 222,000 in rural areas,” the minister said, adding that “Widows with one child include 20,000 in cities and 17,000 in the countryside.”
The number of widows with two children is 16,000 in urban areas and 14,000 in rural areas. The total for those with three or more children across both areas is 11,000 and 7,000, respectively.
The official highlighted the government’s success at providing support to families and strengthening the social state, particularly by increasing assistance for schoolchildren to reduce dropout rates.