Government’s Social Protection Agenda Will Leave No One Out – Chief Of Staff Assures
Chief of Staff at the office of the President, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare says the social protection agenda of the Akufo-Addo administration will ensure that no one who ought to benefit from same is left out.
Ghana’s National Social Protection Policy defines social protection as “a range of actions carried out by the state and other parties in response to vulnerability and poverty, which seek to guarantee relief for those sections of the population who for any reason are not able to provide for themselves”.
Ghana’s Social Protection story according to the Chief of Staff “has been an evolving system, which has steadily increased its scale and functionalities over time”, the evidence of which is in a “number of relevant social protection programmes that have clear benefits for the poor and vulnerable” in Ghana.
Delivering the guest allocution at the 2021 University of Ghana Alumni Lecture on the topic; “Social Protection in Ghana: Are We On Track”, at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, today the 1 of December 2021, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, said the country through President Akufo-Addo’s government, is “pursuing a strong social protection agenda for the vulnerable that increasingly guarantees provision for good healthcare, education, poverty alleviation and support for persons with disability”.
Social Protection Policies
“We have broken the barriers to basic education for all through the introduction of the capitation grant by the Kufuor administration in 2003. We have broken the barriers to secondary education for all through the Free SHS programme by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration from 2017”.
“Now, children, pregnant women, nursing mothers can receive good healthcare through the Free Maternal Child healthcare policy introduced in 2008 by the Kufuor Administration. Now, a person with disability knows that government would provide opportunity for education, social participation and economic empowerment opportunities through the operationalization of the PWD 2006, Act 715 and the DACF support” the Chief of Staff said.
“Many households in extreme poor conditions can have access to a comprehensive social support including cash grant to support consumption through LEAP as introduced in 2008, good healthcare for the indigents through the NHIS as introduced in 2003”.
“Most children in public schools now receive one hot meal a day and through the commitment of our President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo we can look forward to the very near future where every child who goes to a public school would be fed through the school feeding programme” She added.
Scaling up Social Protection
She however, indicated that there are challenges such as “budgetary constraints, targeting inaccuracies as well as poor coordination mechanisms that exist at all levels” as far as the implementation of these social protection programmes are concerned and they must be addressed.
Social Protection Dialogue
As a first step in addressing these challenges, to the vigorous pursuit of the social protection agenda of government, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, called on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection “to convene a national social protection dialogue, of all key stakeholders in order to identify sustainable financing mechanisms, generate stakeholder commitment, explore sustainable public-private partnerships and to unlock innovative ideas to tighten the delivery of Ghana’s social protection agenda so that nobody is left out”.
Lecture Attendees
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Mr Richard Obeng Okrah, Chairman of the University of Ghana Alumni Association (UGAA), were among some of the dignitaries who graced the occasion.