Morocco: 6 months after the earthquake, Doctors of the World remains

Over 6 months ago, on September 9, a massive earthquake hit Marrakesh and numerous villages located in the surrounding mountainous area. The earthquake was one of the most powerful to have ever been measured in Morocco. It cost the lives of nearly 3,000 people and left more than 5,600 injured. Doctors of the World emergency response continues today.

From the first moments following the disaster, Doctors of the World responded by organizing an assessment mission, determining what actions and resources were needed to help those impacted. The local team was immediately reinforced by 3 people: an emergency coordinator, a mental health and psycho-social support coordinator and a logistics coordinator.

This assessment mission quickly transformed into an emergency psycho-social intervention and psychological first aid was provided to affected people in the villages. A collaboration has been established with a local partner: CARE Maroc.

CARE Maroc focused on covering basic needs such as the distribution of food and hygiene kits, while Doctors of the World took care of psychosocial support. This support was provided by two mobile teams, made up of a total of 6 Moroccan psychologists. From the start, medical care was the responsibility of the government.

Mental health and psychosocial support activities took the form of individual psychological consultations and group activities, including discussion groups, group PSP (psychological first aid) interventions and thematic workshops. They benefited 4,799 people in total, including 523 in individual consultations and 4,276 in group care.

At the same time, training was offered to local partner organizations, particularly on mental health and psycho-social support in emergency situations.

Doctors of the World emergency response continues today

Today, the Doctors of the World teams are still reinforced in the field: an intervention team of 12 national psychologists work alongside their colleagues responsible for coordination, logistics, and health and mental health referents (in emergency situations). A team of 18 people in total.

In the first phase of the intervention, it was necessary to respond to the basic needs of populations affected by the earthquake. However, during the second phase, in 2024, the action targets the restoration of access to essential services for people in areas affected by the earthquake.

The earthquake highlighted preexisting inequalities in the intervention zone: marginalized people who managed to satisfy their basic needs before the disaster found themselves doubly hit by the earthquake and by the intersectional factors of exclusion. Sick people or people with reduced mobility and single-parent families managed by women but also sex workers, survivors of gender-based violence, people in migration situations as well as other marginalized populations are particularly exposed due to their preexisting vulnerability.

Doctors of the World Belgium has been present in Morocco since 2013 in the region of Oujda and Rabat, and helps migrants by providing them with access to health care from which they are usually excluded. Specific projects target women and children in migration situations who are on Moroccan territory, providing them with shelter and care. As we continue our earthquake relief work in Morocco, we will ensure that vulnerable and marginalized communities receive aid and ensure that they are not left behind.

Local partners in this project

CARE (France and Morocco)
ALCS (its branches in Marrakech and Taroudant)
MS2
SMPC (national society of clinical psychologists)
Maghreb psychologists as well as administrative and health authorities

International partners in this project

Chain of Happiness
Crisis and support center of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (CDCS)
Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie of the Government of Quebec (MRIF)
Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI

Photography

© Marc Ferra