Internationalized Social Protection Reforms and Their Reception in Rural Settings

In many Global South countries, impoverishment and poor health are particularly an issue in rural farming households strongly affected by climate change and growing water shortages. This has generated a growing emphasis on social protection in both international and national rural development agendas. Morocco is often praised for its recent ambition to generalize social protection for all. In December 2022, the government launched a new social protection project developed in cooperation with various international partners, particularly the World Bank. First, it expanded universal medical coverage for the benefit of 22 million additional people, consisting mostly of non-salaried workers who are particularly present in the farming sector. This new system combines compulsory health insurance with health assistance for the most vulnerable. Second, the reform generalized family allowances. The reform was coupled with the adoption of a Unified Social Register (RSU) as a tool for better targeting of social categories eligible for aid and avoiding fraud. However, beyond obvious questions of financing, the reform and its current implementation have their limits in rural settings. Based on a close analysis of official discourses, policy documents, and in-depth interviews conducted between 2023 and 2024 with state officials, social policy experts, and smallholder farmers in the Zemmour region, this paper reveals the tensions between international ideas, state logic, and local contestation.