The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sarah Adwoa Safo has given assurances to the Ministry’s development partners of the government’s commitment to protecting the vulnerable in society and ensuring gender equality and equal opportunity for all.

She made the commitment during recent meetings with Heads of Cooperation of UK AID, the World Bank, the United Nation’s Resident Coordinator and Country Directors of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nation’s Children Fund and UNESCO.

The meetings were to discuss issues pertaining to the Ministry and ensuring their commitment towards helping the country to attain gender equality and offer adequate support for the vulnerable.

Adwoa Safo applauded the Ministry’s development partners for their support of the government’s COVID-19 relief efforts.

“I express my deepest gratitude to our development partners who have come together to support the government’s COVID-19 relief efforts and for their ongoing support to strengthen the various efforts of the Ministry. Your dedication to all our endeavours has been critical to the development of the Nation and I assure you that this government is committed to ensure gender equality and equal opportunities for all persons especially the most vulnerable in our society” she stated.

She also reiterated the need for support to scale up Ghana’s social protection program to reach the targeted number of 1.5 million Ghanaians and 350,000 households.

“We are as always counting on your support to scale up the social safety program which will benefit the poorest households in all regions of Ghana by: providing cash transfers to 350,000 households through the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) reaching 1.5 million individuals,” she said.

The Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya also encouraged the development partners to support the Ministry in pushing legislative frameworks that will strengthen the rights of the vulnerable in the country.

“This year, our aim is to ensure that the Affirmative Action and Aged Persons Bills are passed and the Ghana Social Protection Policy and Bill reviewed. It is our hope that you will aid us push these bills and other legislative frameworks to safeguard and protect the rights of the vulnerable in the country.” she emphasized.

She assured them of her commitment to enhance inter-ministerial and inter-agency collaboration especially between her Ministry and the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development and the Ministry of Health.

The development partners on their part assured the Minister of their utmost commitment to support the Government’s quest to protect the most vulnerable and to ensure the completion of the registration of the extreme poor under Ghana National Household Registry to cover all 16 regions whilst acknowledging that only 5 regions have so far been covered.

The Ministry is looking to enhance its relationship with the development partners who have over the years worked in collaboration with the Ministry in enhancing issues relating to the vulnerable in society by offering support for specific programs and projects.