News
Morocco: students find power and purpose through sport
Located near Casablanca, the LEAD Morocco Academy is helping children from underprivileged communities grow through football: building discipline, teamwork, and confidence for the future.
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Morocco: helping women survivors of violence reclaim their dignity
For over 20 years, the National Institution for Solidarity with Women in Distress (INSAF) has been working in Casablanca to uphold the dignity of women and children. The organization welcomes, support...
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Youth employment and elder care: a dual challenge in Morocco
In Casablanca, the "L’Heure joyeuse" association trains young people in personal care professions through the Fapar program, with support from AFD. This program offers a tangible solution to both yout...
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Giving new hope to Lebanese young people through vocational training
Lebanon has faced a series of overlapping crises since 2019 – economic, security, financial, and health – that have affected every sector of society. In light of this situation, AFD and its partners h...
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Khadija Bourass: boosting biodiversity in Morocco through bird conservation
Through her work leading GREPOM, an NGO for bird conservation in Morocco, Khadija Bourass resolutely defends Moroccan biodiversity. She advocates for wildlife and wetlands, with the conviction that wh...
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Supporting the media through several crises in the Middle East
While the region struggles with various crises, the media remain committed to publishing free, high-quality and constant information even in times of war. AFD has been financing the Qarib project sinc...
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Lebanon: working for more reliable water supply
In Lebanon, more than 1.5 million people enjoy improved access to drinking water thanks to Project SEPAL (“Services d’eau potable améliorés au Liban,” or “Improved potable water services in Lebanon”)....
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LEAD Morocco: sport and education for all children
In Morocco, where more than 180,000 children live in extreme poverty, there is ongoing inequality in access to education. We met Soufiane Najah El Idrissi and Fatima Azzahra Benfares, the founders of...
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Driving the transition to sustainable agriculture in Ghassate, Morocco
At the 2025 edition of the Paris International Agricultural Show, Morocco will take center stage. In the south-east of the country, where agriculture is often critical to survival, the sector is facin...
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One Water Summit: laying the groundwork for action ahead of the UN Water Conference in 2026
On December 3, France, Kazakhstan and the World Bank Group co-organized the One Water Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the margins of the COP16 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Having...
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Defying Desertification: Feeding Populations without Plundering the Planet
In the quest to feed a rapidly global population, certain modes of farming and food production are damaging the environment and stripping the earth of valuable nutrients and minerals. For the opening...
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From Banking to Basketball, Moroccan Referee’s Mission to Make Sports Accessible
Thirty-four year-old French-Moroccan Najib Chajiddine was the youngest person to referee the basketball matches at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. He’s also involved, with backing from AFD, in mak...
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How Traditional Trades are helping Rebuild Communities in Morocco
Last year’s earthquake damaged not only infrastructure in Morocco, but also impacted the economy, notably in the rural Rhamna province between Casablanca and Marrakesh. Locals however, are using tradi...
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Morocco is Making Moves in Cinema by Streaming on the Small Screen
In Morocco, dozens of cinemas have closed over the years, plunging the film industry into crisis. But up-and-coming directors, writers and actors have contributed to a resurgence of cinema. So too hav...
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Finding Innovative Development Solutions in North Africa
Some entrepreneurs sought to fight pollution; for others the goal was to promote inclusion. In their own ways, they have all taken action. The four winners of North Africa’s first call for proposals i...
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5 Flagship Projects that are Restoring Nature around the Planet
Close to 40% of the world’s land is degraded, according to the UN, which has made the need to protect biodiversity all the more urgent. AFD Group is convinced that biodiversity conservation and the fi...
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School Canteens: Part of “the Biggest Social Protection Plan in the World”
The first global meeting of the School Meals Coalition took place this week, as part of an urgent effort to improve school canteens and expand children’s access to regular, healthy meals. And as we fi...
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Young People Entering Morocco’s Industrial Ecosystem via Public-Private Partnerships
Morocco has been developing a professional training system to better serve the needs of its industrial sector. A recent evaluation of such AFD-backed programs laud their success in the recruitment of...
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Lebanon: Rebuilding the Economy from the Ground Up
With crises multiplying in Lebanon, poverty has reached astronomical levels as the economy falters, and small and medium sized businesses struggle to survive. In the second-largest city, Tripoli, know...
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Taking Action to Defend the Rights of Refugees
How can we better protect refugees forced to flee their countries to escape conflict or persecution? As World Refugee Day draws attention to the plight of refugees on June 20, let's take a look at thr...
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