Project expands to offer more opportunities for Ghana’s poorest women | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

The Labor-Intensive Public Works (LIPW) program, as part of the Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP), recently received additional financing from the World Bank Group. The project aims to reduce poverty and expand social opportunities for the poorest people through public works employment and grants for poor households.

“The Ghana Social Opportunities Project supports Ghana’s efforts to fight poverty in the country’s poorest regions and to ensure that poor and vulnerable households are not left behind as the economy grows,” said Yusupha Crookes, World Bank Group country director for Ghana. “This will build on Ghana’s gains in recent decades, which include reducing the poverty rate from 52% in 1992 to 28% in 2006, and help the country to make faster progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.”

The additional funding will be used to extend the LIPW program from 49 to 60 districts, and increase the number of grants from 100,000 to 150,000 poor households through the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) program. The LEAP program is designed to help alleviate short-term poverty by providing cash transfers and health insurance to extremely poor households across the country.

Both the public works and household grant programs have achieved success in reaching women; 60% of public works beneficiaries and 69% of household grant beneficiaries so far have been female, helping to empower women and increase their income.

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