The Social Protection Directorate under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection have organised its 19th Session of the Social Protection Sector Working Group Meeting on Wednesday, 11th March, 2020 at the World Bank Office in Accra.
The purpose of the meeting was to share updates on the Ghana Productive Safety Net Projects, planned activities of the Social Protection Directorate for 2020 and to discuss Social Protection Coordination and Complementary services. The meeting also discussed interventions to be classified as social protection initiatives. This is to enable comprehensive financial reporting on social protection.
In her keynote address, Hon. Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, said effective execution of social protection activities requires significant collaboration and coordination among state and non-state partners.
She added that the Ministry is doing everything possible to ensure that the overarching goal of the Social Protection Policy which is to provide sustainable mechanisms for protecting persons living in extreme poverty and related vulnerability and exclusion is achieved.
She further stressed that the Ministry is institutionalizing a Social Protection Week Celebration which is aimed at bringing together local and international social protection actors to showcase and share knowledge on the transformational role of social protection in ensuring a holistic national development.
Hon. Cynthia Mamle Morrison in her address also said the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection through its Social Protection Directorate has commenced the development of a framework for coordination and complementarity of social protection interventions in the country.
There were key presentations and updates on planned activities of the various units under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. Dr. Rita Owusu-Amankwah, Director for Social Protection, Dr. Prosper Laari, National Coordinator for the Ghana National Household Registry, Madam Clara Tigenoah of the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project and Madam Esther Akua Gyamfi, Executive Secretary of the National Council on Persons with Disability did presentations on their respective units.
The Sector Working Group on Social Protection brought together some Government Officials, Civil Society Organizations and Development Partners as well as Academia and other key stakeholders to share, discuss and identify key issues to be addressed in Social protection and poverty reduction in Ghana.