This meeting, chaired by the Governor of Khenifra province, Mohamed Adel Ihoran, and attended by heads of external services and heads of communes affected by the cold wave, falls within the framework of implementing the High Royal Instructions calling for the comprehensive mobilization of all logistical and human resources to provide support and assistance to citizens to face the cold wave affecting a number of regions of the Kingdom.
On this occasion, Ihoran emphasized the importance of this meeting, which comes in implementation of the High Royal Instructions, stressing the need to increase the mobilization of all intervening parties and make every possible effort to mitigate the effects of the difficult weather conditions and break the isolation of the affected areas.
He explained that the operational program for the 2024-2025 winter season covers 49 Douars across 9 rural communes, with a population estimated at 27,697 people, including 7,793 children and about 4,318 elderly people counted within the framework of this program, which also includes 77 pregnant women.
The provincial governor added that in order to ensure an effective and efficient emergency intervention, the experience of the hubs used last year, which yielded good and tangible results, should be adopted.
This concerns the logistics and machinery hub under the supervision of the Directorate of Equipment and Water, the humanitarian and emergency intervention hub in coordination with the Civil Protection services, and the health services and mobile units hub managed by the Provincial Directorate of Health.
He added that the Provincial Directorate of National Mutual Aid has prepared a group of institutions to receive and shelter the homeless, recalling the mobilization of medical and nursing teams with the provision of a large fleet of ambulances and the scheduling of mobile units and medical convoys to bring health services closer to the targeted population.
He called on all stakeholders, competent authorities, and communes affected by the cold wave to participate effectively in the implementation of the regional program and to mobilize all necessary human and logistical resources to deal with the effects of this weather phenomenon, and to provide sufficient quantities of medicines in health centers near the areas at risk, and fodder for livestock breeders in the concerned areas, as well as firewood, blankets, and food supplies for the population, educational institutions, boarding schools, and reception centers.
The Provincial Delegate of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Mohamed Maroussi, explained in a statement to the Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) agency that several initiatives have been scheduled to provide proximity services to the population, including medical consultations, vaccination campaigns, distribution of medicines, epidemiological monitoring, and the deployment of a medical team and local units for the care of pregnant women before and after childbirth.
For his part, the Provincial Director of Equipment in Khenifra, Abdelkrim Nasser, confirmed that all logistical and human resources have been mobilized in coordination with local authorities for road maintenance, especially those connecting Khenifra to Midelt, and Khenifra to Agadir.
This meeting was marked by the presentation of reports on the measures taken at the regional level to face the effects of the cold wave, by representatives of the Provincial Health Delegation, the Provincial Command of Civil Protection, the Provincial Directorate of Equipment and Water, the Provincial Directorate of National Mutual Aid, and the Regional Directorate of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water.
