Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has launched the Re-assessment Outcomes of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Program to enable a lot more poor households to benefit from the program.
Launching the program at a ceremony in Accra on Friday dubbed :” Enrolment(Onboarding of Newly Eligible Households of the Leap Prigramme”, the Minister for MoGCSP, Hon. Angela Naa Momo Lartey revealed that the launch has been possible following a nationwide reassessment of the programme using the Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR).
Minister for MoGCSP, Hon. Angela Naa Momo Lartey
She emphasized that Government identified 400,000 extremely poor households to benefit and to be newly enrolled into the LEAP Programme.
“Today, we gather to mark the nationwide onboarding of 400,000 households following the successful completion of a comprehensive reassessment exercise. This moment represents far more than numbers, it represents lives being improved families being strengthened and social protection systems being fundamentally renewed”, the Minister revealed.
The Minister revealed that the reassessment has also demonstrated the success of LEAP as significant number of households have improved their welfare and are now ready to move forward.
She maintained that this progress is a testament to Government’s sustained investment in social protection and the resilience of beneficiary households adding that then support has restored dignity, expanded opportunity and strengthened resilience.
“It has enabled families to meet basic needs supported children to stay in school and facilitated access to essential healthcare services quietly but possibly, it has contributed to the human capital of the country”, she said.
She explained that the reassessment is not merely an administrative exercise but rather a deliberate reform to ensure that the program remains fair accurate transparent and impactful adding that “through this process we have strengthened targeting, improved integrity and created Clearer pathways for households whether to continue receiving supports to transition or to newly entire program.
She added that it has helped in expanding access to social assistance on an unprecedented scale, strengthens the integrity and accountability of payments through structured and reliable platforms, improves efficiency and accessibility for beneficiaries, and reaffirms Government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that no eligible Ghanaian is left behind.
The Krowor Member of Parliament also revealed that under the reassessment regime, 220,520 households will exit the programme under what it described as transitioning adding that one of the most important outcomes of the reassessment is the shift it signals, from a static beneficiary system to a more dynamic and responsive one maintaining that the Programme now reflects the reality that households evolve over time.
Hon. Momo Lartey however emphasized that payments to newly enrolled households will commence only after the successful completion of the enrolment process, to ensure transparency, accountability, and system integrity adding that we are ready, Our systems are ready. Our officers at the regional and district levels are fully prepared to deliver this exercise efficiently and professionally”.
She seized the opportunity to commends President Mahama for his unwavering commitment to LEAP stressing that the President’s tomely release of funds for the program is doing a great service to the programme.
The Minister also commended the LEAP Secretariat and all the Partners including World Bank, UNICEF, WFP, all of whom praised the Ministry for the feat chalked as the first to successfully embark on reassessment in the sub-region.
The Chief Director of the MoGCSP, Dr. Marian W.A Kpakpah earlier in a welcome address said the launch provides an opportunity for the Ministry, development partners, implementing agencies and the broader public to come together to reaffirm their collective commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive, and more effective social protection system for Ghana.
“It also underscores the importance of partnership, coordination, and shared responsibility in delivering impact at scale”, the Chief Director stressed.
Source:www.senaradioonline.com
