The World Bank has lauded the Government of Ghana for supporting social interventions and integrated social services which have helped cushion vulnerable groups in the hike of the covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Organization in collaboration with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP)−one of the social interventions−implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection played a major role in helping mitigate the dire effects of the pandemic on lives.
The programme, introduced in 2008 for extremely poor and vulnerable households, offers some 1.5 million individuals across the country financial support of up to GH₵106−the equivalent of US$20−every two months through cash transfer.
LEAP’s objective is to reduce poverty by increasing and smoothening consumption and promoting access to services and opportunities among the extremely poor and vulnerable.
“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LEAP programme was temporarily expanded to reach persons who were not enrolled on the program and were greatly impacted by the pandemic.
“An estimated 125,000 beneficiaries were targeted to receive temporary cash transfers to cushion them against the pandemic’s economic shock,” the joint statement by the two organizations said.
The expansion was made possible with the help from UNICEF, World Bank and other partners.
The commendation came in effect of a report the UNICEF and the World Bank have published which shows that persons who received the assistance from the government were alleviated from the adverse effects of the pandemic.
“While households with three or more children were the most likely to experience a loss of income, they were also most likely to receive government assistance, with 25 percent accessing this support, compared to 10 percent of households with no children. The report notes that this helped to mitigate the adverse impact of the crisis on households that received support”
UNICEF and the World Bank noted that out of the total population of the country, 30.8 million, 22 million representing two-thirds of the total population experienced a reduction in their incomes due to the novel disease.
According to the report, a whopping “52.1% of households reduced food consumption as a coping mechanism in the face of the covid-19 pandemic” while 15.9% of households were unable to buy at least one staple food due to the increase in prices of foods and lack of financial resources.
“The modest progress made in reducing child poverty in recent years risks being reversed in all parts of the world. Families have experienced income loss at a staggering scale. While last year inflation reached its highest level in years, more than two thirds of households with children brought in less money. Families cannot afford food or essential health care services. They cannot afford housing. It is a dire picture, and the poorest households are being pushed even deeper in poverty,” Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF Director of Programme Group is quoted to have said.
In this regard, the two international bodies were pleased that Ghana Government mustered efforts towards helping the hardest-hit citizens of the country bear the effects of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the two international organizations have urged the government to consider expanding the social interventions especially the LEAP, scaling it up for children and their families in a “well-coordinated manner with the aid of robust systems, primarily focusing on the poorest children and vulnerable groups”.
They noted that the scaling up of the programme, “including child grants, first targeting the most vulnerable is a critical investment” that can cushion the families against economic distress and future shocks.
