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The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has launched a national event for the enrolment of 400,000 newly eligible households onto the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme.
The onboarding process follows a nationwide reassessment of beneficiaries aimed at making the programme more dynamic, transparent, and responsive to changing poverty conditions.
The enrolment process is scheduled to begin on April 27, 2026, and will take two to four weeks.
It will involve verification, data validation and integration into secure payment systems, while payments to new beneficiaries will commence only after the process is fully completed to ensure accountability and transparency.
The launch, held last Friday at the forecourt of the ministry in Accra, featured keynote addresses and solidarity messages from representatives of development partners, ministries and agencies.
It brought together representatives from UNICEF, World Bank, civil society organisations (CSOs), the LEAP Management secretaries, the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, as well as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
Notable among the attendees were the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey; Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF, Christiana Gbedemah; Social Protection Specialist, World Bank, Cynthia Nimo Ampredu; National Coordinator, Platform for Social Protection, Jeleel Odoom, and Chief Director at the Gender Ministry, Dr Mariam W. A. Kpakpah.
Speaking at the event, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey described the onboarding as a significant step towards expanding social protection in the country.
She emphasised that the initiative represented more than a routine exercise, calling it a “statement of commitment, reform and hope.”
"Today is a statement of commitment, of reform, and above all, of hope. We gather to mark the national or nationwide onboarding of 400,000 households following the successful completion," she said.
The minister highlighted that poverty was fluid, with households moving in and out of vulnerability due to factors such as illness, unemployment, inflation, and climate-related shocks.
She said this reality necessitated reforms to ensure accurate targeting and effective resource allocation.
As part of the reforms, she said 220,520 households would transition out of the programme — either graduating or exiting—while 400,000 new households are being enrolled.
She added that this shift reflected a move from a static system to one that adapted to evolving socio-economic conditions.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not merely an administrative exercise. It was deliberate reform to ensure that the programme remains fair, accurate, transparent and impactful.
It is this conviction that led us to undertake the nationwide reassessment of beneficiary households," she said.
Dr Lartey also outlined measures to support households exiting the programme, including access to livelihood opportunities, financial literacy training, and community-based savings schemes.
She explained that these interventions were designed to ensure a smooth and dignified transition while promoting long-term self-reliance.
"Beneficiary households will be linked to productive inclusion opportunities, including livelihood programmes, financial literacy programmes and training, as well as community-based saving mechanisms, such as village savings and loan associations,” the Gender Minister stated.
Ms Gbedemah commended the Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry for leading the nationwide reassessment and expansion of the LEAP Programme, describing it as a major milestone in social protection within the sub-region.
UNICEF’s Social Policy Specialist linked the onboarding of new households to global development goals, which aim to eradicate extreme poverty.
She said enrolling more vulnerable households into LEAP helped bridge the poverty gap and represented meaningful progress, especially with only a few years remaining to meet the SDG targets.
"UNICEF has been instrumental in conducting impact evaluations over the years and engaging policy, making sure we engage stakeholders on the need to invest in this programme,” Ms Gbedemah said.
LEAP was introduced by the government in 2008 as a national social protection intervention to support extremely poor and vulnerable households.
Its goal is to reduce extreme poverty and promote human capital development among vulnerable households through the provision of cash transfers and access to complementary social services.
At inception, the programme covered 1,654 households in 21 districts.
Through sustained scale-up and policy commitment, LEAP has expanded significantly to reach about 400,000 households by 2026, covering all metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies nationwide.
