OECD highlights Morocco’s efforts to strengthen critical risk governance

09:15

By: Azzat Manal

OECD highlights Morocco’s efforts to strengthen critical risk governance

Morocco is strengthening its national framework for anticipating and managing disasters and other critical risks, according to a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The assessment highlights institutional measures aimed at improving coordination, risk analysis and preparedness before major crises occur.

The OECD’s September 2026 report, titled “Tracking Progress in the Governance of Critical Risks”, examines how countries have developed their capacity to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and learn from major shocks. The study draws on information from a cross-country assessment and stresses the importance of moving beyond reactive crisis management toward more coordinated and anticipatory approaches.

Among the measures highlighted in Morocco is the creation within the Ministry of Interior of a Chief Risk Officer position. The role is intended to coordinate disaster risk management efforts across government institutions and different levels of administration, with support from specialists in critical-risk analysis.

According to the OECD, this structure also contributes to identifying and prioritizing investments designed to strengthen national risk-management capabilities. The approach reflects a broader challenge identified by the organization: having national risk assessments is not enough unless their findings are effectively incorporated into public policy, preparedness planning and investment decisions.

Morocco is also developing a National Risk Observatory designed to bring together information on different hazards and threats. The OECD says a team of experts is working on the initiative, drawing on data from several organizations with scientific expertise in different areas of risk.

The observatory is intended to provide a more comprehensive picture of the risks facing the country. Such an approach is consistent with the OECD’s “all-hazards” model, which encourages governments to examine different threats together, including the ways in which one crisis can trigger secondary effects on infrastructure, essential services, supply chains and public finances.

The OECD’s assessment also places Morocco’s current efforts in the context of a longer cooperation process. The country underwent an OECD peer review of its risk-management policies in 2017, alongside other countries including Kazakhstan and Colombia. Morocco has since continued working on recommendations through its cooperation programme with the organization.

The broader OECD assessment shows that countries use different institutional models to coordinate critical-risk governance. In the latest review, 20 of 27 respondents reported having a central government institution or body with responsibilities related to critical-risk governance, although these functions can be distributed among ministries, specialized agencies and subnational authorities.

The organization emphasizes that effective risk governance involves more than collecting information. Governments also need mechanisms capable of translating scientific assessments and risk data into prevention measures, preparedness plans, investment priorities and effective responses when emergencies occur.

The OECD has also identified emerging challenges that require governments to strengthen their ability to anticipate complex and interconnected risks. These include climate-related threats, multiple or cascading crises, disruptions to essential supplies and the growing importance of digital technologies and other emerging vulnerabilities.

For Morocco, the combination of a dedicated risk-coordination function, specialized expertise and the development of a National Risk Observatory forms part of an evolving institutional framework for disaster and crisis management. The OECD’s findings suggest that the effectiveness of such systems ultimately depends on how successfully risk information is incorporated into decision-making and long-term investment.

The report places Morocco’s efforts within a wider international shift toward anticipatory governance, in which governments seek to identify vulnerabilities before emergencies occur rather than relying primarily on intervention after disasters have already developed. For Morocco, strengthening coordination between institutions and improving the use of risk data could support efforts to build resilience against increasingly complex and interconnected threats.