Over six thousand (6000) pregnant Women including Children under 12 years in ten districts of the Northern and Upper East Regions are expected to benefit from the government social intervention program Christened; Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), 1000 project.
The beneficiary districts in the northern region include Yendi municipality, Tolon, Mion, Kumbnugu, East Mamprusi and East Gonja districts. Bawku West and Garu Tempane districts in the Upper East region among others will also benefit from the LEAP 1000 project.
The cross-sectorial initiative operating in nutrition, economic growth, governance and gender is to break new grounds in promoting resilience among vulnerable populations in the two regions.
The United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing a 12-million dollar support to the project while the government of Ghana is implementing the program with the support of UNICEF will provide over 4.5 million dollars for the five-year period of the project.
LEAP 1000 has enrolled about 28,000 extremely poor households in the northern Ghana. The project is designed to fight extreme poverty (people who earn less than 1.25 dollar per day or 4 Ghana Cedis) and stunting in Ghana. LEAP 1000 is a social cash transfer program which provides financial support and health insurances to extremely poor households across the country.
A deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection Mrs Della Sowah who launched the project in Tamale said efforts in addressing malnutrition will eventual end up in promoting economic growth of the country.
Investment
at the early stage of a child life the minister observed entails stimulation developmental benefits in the future.
The number of children suffering from chronic under nutrition in Ghana she noted remains critical. Ghana statistical services multiple indicator cluster survey 2011 reveals that stunting affects more than one and four Ghanaian children under two years.
This survey implies over 8 hundred Ghanaian children are stunted. The Northern and Asante regions accounts for 40% of children who stunted in Ghana with Greater region accounting for 13.7%. Mrs Della Sowah reiterated government commitment to raising the living standard of extreme poor in Ghana.
Given the breakdown of the grant to the beneficiary in the ten districts in the two regions, Mrs Della Sowah said one beneficiary will receive 30 Ghana cedis monthly, two-36 cedis, three or more 45 cedis in every two months. The disbursement the minister said will be done electronically using smart phones for effective data processing and also to reduce errors.
The Mission Director of USAID, James Bever told the beneficiary district chief executives present that, the money is the contribution of people of America and that it is not a donation to Ghana but an investment to support Ghanaian children and pregnant women.
USAID according to its Mission Director was committed in supporting Government of Ghana their leadership in answering the moral imperative to end extreme poverty within a generation.
The Northern Regional Minister Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru Limuna urged the DCEs to ensure that the disbursement of the money is done professionally to the targeted households. He appealed to the DCEs to allow the systems to work in the execution of the project. “The money is not for party chairmen, opinion leaders and chiefs wife’s; is meant to reduce poverty and not for those already well to do people’’ Alhaji Limuna cautioned.
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