LEAP turning around economies of rural poor – Gender Ministry

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has said the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme is turning around the economies of the rural poor in Ghana.

Ghana’s LEAP programme is a social cash transfer one, which provides cash and health insurance to extremely poor households across the country to alleviate short-term poverty and encourage long-term human capital development.

LEAP started a trial phase in March 2008 and then began expanding gradually in 2009 and 2010. As of July 2013, the programme had reached over 70,000 households across Ghana with an annual expenditure of approximately USD20m.

The programme is funded from general revenues of the Government of Ghana (50 percent), donations from DFID and a loan from the World Bank. It is the flagship programme of Ghana's National Social Protection Strategy and is implemented by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) in the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP).

Eligibility is based on poverty and having a household member in at least one of three demographic categories; single parent with orphan or vulnerable child (OVC), elderly poor, or person with extreme disability unable to work (PWD). Initial selection of households is done through a community-based process and is verified centrally with a proxy means test. A unique feature of LEAP is that aside from direct cash payments, beneficiaries are provided free health insurance through the new National Health Insurance Scheme, which began in 2004-05.

In a statement to congratulate women on Mother’s Day Sunday, the Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry’s Communications Adviser Mr Abraham Asare said: “Women empowerment is still high on the agenda and with government’s social protection programmes targeting women in extremely poor communities the Ministry believes the agenda to empower women is on course. Research has shown that the local economies of the rural poor are being turned around by the injection of LEAP grants into those communities.”

The Ministry added: “The programme will be expanded to reach more women so that their children and grandchildren can remain in school and receive good healthcare. The Ministry believes, there is a better future for all Ghanaian mothers. Happy mothers’ day.”