Understanding the needs of the Moroccan High Atlas seven months after the earthquake.
The Fondation de France entrusted ArkoConsulting with conducting an analysis of the post-earthquake situation in the Al Haouz region and the Moroccan High Atlas, seven months after the earthquake of September 8, 2023, the most violent recorded in Morocco in 120 years. The 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the Al Haouz region on the night of September 8–9, 2023, resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths, injured more than 6,000 others, and destroyed around 50,000 homes in rural and mountainous areas of the High Atlas, often difficult to access.
The Fondation de France, which had allocated approximately €4 million through around thirty partner projects as part of the Opération Solidarité Maroc, sought to obtain an updated assessment to guide its interventions during the transition phase between emergency response and reconstruction. ArkoConsulting conducted the study between March and May 2024, combining three sources of information: field observations in the provinces of Taroudant, Al Haouz, and Chichaoua — including visits to remote mountain villages (Asni, Imlil, Imnane, Tachedirt, Ouirgane, Amizmiz) —, a documentary review incorporating case studies, and a structured collection of feedback from 17 partner organizations of the Fondation de France (NGOs, associations, foundations) through a questionnaire covering the emergency and post-emergency phases by sector (food aid, shelter, WASH, psychosocial support, health, education, economic recovery).
The analysis provided the Fondation de France with a framework to adjust its intervention strategy during the reconstruction phase, identifying persistent needs in housing, structured psychosocial support, and economic recovery for mountain communities.
