Launched in 2020 under the directive of King Mohammed VI, Morocco’s sweeping effort to universalize social protection is pressing forward with determination as it nears its target deadline of 2025. This large-scale reform, anchored at the highest levels of government, has gradually taken shape both legally and operationally, and is now delivering concrete results on multiple fronts.
The King’s speech to Parliament on October 9, 2020, marked a decisive turning point. In it, he called for expanding social protection to all Moroccans, setting in motion a national strategy aimed at guaranteeing equitable access to healthcare, family support, retirement pensions, and unemployment benefits. At its core, the initiative is a bold step toward social justice, prioritizing the inclusion of the country’s most vulnerable populations.
These ambitions were formally codified in Framework Law 09.21, enacted on March 23, 2021. This law laid the legal groundwork for Morocco’s new social contract, outlining the government’s role and defining four key pillars of the universal coverage model. Since its adoption, each of these pillars has been gradually rolled out, building momentum as the 2025 goal approaches.
The first major milestone was the expansion of mandatory health insurance (AMO) to all segments of society. Prior to 2022, only select groups were covered. That changed in December of that year, when Morocco’s medical assistance scheme (RAMED) was absorbed into the AMO system. This move brought in nearly 4 million low-income households—over 10 million individuals—with the government covering the full annual cost of 9.5 billion dirhams.
The rollout didn’t stop there. Another 2.4 million self-employed workers—including tradespeople, shopkeepers, and professionals—were integrated into the AMO, extending coverage to more than 6 million people when dependents are included. A complementary program, AMO Achamil, targets individuals who aren’t employed but have the means to contribute voluntarily.
The results have been striking. As of July 2025, the Prime Minister announced that 11.4 million citizens—spread across 4 million households—had gained access to basic health insurance without contributing financially. This pushed national coverage from 42.2% before the reform to a remarkable 88%. The National Social Security Fund (CNSS), which manages AMO, has seen the number of insured individuals skyrocket from 8 million to 25 million in just a few years.
The second pillar centers on the rollout of family allowances. Launched between 2023 and 2024, this initiative is designed to reduce inequalities in access to child-related support. It relies on the Unified Social Registry (RSU), a digital targeting system that assigns each household a socioeconomic score to determine eligibility.
By the end of September 2024, over 4.18 million families had received direct social aid. Of those, 2.36 million benefited from family allowances, while 1.55 million received flat-rate assistance. In addition, a special back-to-school grant reached 1.66 million primary students, nearly 960,000 middle schoolers, and over 430,000 high school students. Since December 2023, a total of 18.54 billion dirhams has been mobilized for these programs.
This support expanded further in 2025. By April, the government reported that nearly 4 million individuals had received direct financial aid, impacting a total of 12 million people, including 5.5 million children, over 1 million seniors, and more than 420,000 widows—340,000 of whom had no children. The cumulative amount disbursed since the program’s launch now exceeds 34 billion dirhams.
The third pillar focuses on extending retirement coverage to an estimated 5 million active workers currently outside the pension system. These include informal laborers, farmers, and other self-employed individuals who, until now, have had no retirement safety net. The plan is to create a national pension scheme tailored for non-salaried workers, with standardized contribution rules to reduce inequality across professions and ensure long-term financial stability.
The fourth and most underdeveloped pillar concerns unemployment benefits. At present, this safety net is limited, having reached just over 26,000 people in 2023. The Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) has proposed overhauling the system to include a contributory insurance model for salaried workers and a separate assistance mechanism for the self-employed. The reform would also introduce active labor market policies to support reintegration into the workforce.
Altogether, the full implementation of these programs will require an annual budget of around 51 billion dirhams starting in 2025. This includes 14 billion for health insurance, 20 billion for family allowances, 16 billion for pension reform, and 1 billion for unemployment benefits. Some projections, depending on variables, suggest a financial burden ranging between 29 and 39 billion dirhams.
At the heart of this social transformation is the Unified Social Registry, created under Law 72.18. It collects and analyzes household data to assign vulnerability scores, ensuring that aid is accurately targeted. Managed by the National Registry Agency (ANR), the system provides each household with a unique digital ID, enhancing transparency and traceability throughout the process.
In parallel, a housing assistance program was introduced in early 2024, offering direct financial support to first-time homebuyers. Two levels of aid are available: 100,000 dirhams for homes priced up to 300,000 dirhams (tax included), and 70,000 dirhams for properties costing between 300,000 and 700,000 dirhams. The initiative is also open to Moroccans living abroad, who make up a quarter of the 63,000 beneficiaries identified so far. The online portal daamsakane.ma has already registered more than 114,000 applications.
Backed by a robust legal framework and significant financial commitment, these initiatives underscore Morocco’s determined shift toward a more inclusive, socially driven state model. The approach is methodical, digitally enabled, and structured around well-defined priorities—transforming a royal vision into systemic national change.
