Evaluating Strategic Disaster Governance in Morocco: A Case Study on Combating the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper examines strategic disaster governance in Morocco by assessing health emergency management policies during the COVID-19 crisis. The paper adopted the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's analytical framework on the government's response to Covid-19 because it is more comprehensive and flexible than the analytical frameworks of the World Bank and the World Health Organization, and it is based on three components or stages of the risk management cycle: 1) Pandemic preparation. 2) Epidemic management. 3) Response and recovery policies. The study found that Morocco began a strategic approach to disaster risk management based on anticipation and preparedness at the start of the millennium, as well as building up legislative and institutional frameworks to ensure vigilance and early warning. It also addressed the response and crisis management phase with a variety of measures related to epidemiological surveillance, media communication, immediate financial support, and vaccination processes. The government's ratification of the National Health System Law and related institutions, as well as the enactment of the Social Protection Law and its supporting legislation, represent an exemplary response to the post-Covid-19 crisis. These policies show that the government has developed and implemented strategic governance to combat the pandemic, which has been defined by gradual development, learning, and continuity.