26TH SESSION OF THE SOCIAL PROTECTION SECTOR WORKING GROUP MEETING

On Tuesday, 18th April 2023, the Social Protection Directorate under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection held its 26th Session of the Social Protection Sector Working Group meeting.

The meeting sought to review and validate the draft Medium-term Implementation Plan of the National Social Protection Policy (NSPP).

It was also to share with the committe a joint 2023 Workplan and Budget prepared by the Social Protection Inter-Sectoral Technical Committee (SPiSTC)

The Sector Working Group (SWG) on Social Protection (SP) is one of the key institutional structures at the national level, which is made up of Government Officials, Civil Society Organizations, Parliamentarians, Development Partners as well as Academia and other key stakeholders.

The SP SWG meet quarterly to share knowledge, identify and discuss key issues on social protection and poverty reduction in Ghana.

Addressing participants, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, who doubles as the Chairperson to the SWG, Hon. Lariba Zuweira Abudu (MP) indicated that the Ministry will engage all identified lead and collaborating agencies in the plan to ensure each institution appreciates their respective roles in the implementation of the national social protection policy.

She was optimistic that the only way to track and understand how SP systems affect beneficiaries is to put in place a harmonize Workplan that highlights the various complementarities within the SP interventions.

Hon. Lariba Zuweira charged stakeholders to make significant contributions to the validation processes to enable timely implementation of the plan inorder to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in the country.

She further tasked the Sector Working Group to monitor the implementation of the harmonized 2023 SP workplan, make the necessary follow-ups, and recommendations to ensure its successful implementation.

In her opening remarks, the Deputy Minister for MoGCSP, Hon. Francisca Oteng Mensah (MP), expressed her gratitude to participants for their support and efforts to develop the Medium Term Plan.

She stated that Ghana has made a significant progress in the areas of Social Protection and gender equality.

Hon. Francisca Oteng Mensah intimated that the SP Working Group is an important institutional structure since it brings together stakeholders to discuss emerging Social Protection and poverty reduction issues.

The finalization of the Medium-Term Implementation Plan according to the Deputy Minister will accommodate evolving socio- economic and political development.

Speaking at the meeting, the Deputy Country Director for World Food Programme, Mrs Anna Mukiibi-Bunnya urged all stakeholders to have a constructive dialogue to support efforts that enhance the functioning of the national social Protection system.

The Social Protection SWG broadly exercise policy coherence, oversight, rationalize social protection expenditure, information dissemination, review, and approval of plans and budgets for onward transmission to Cabinet and Parliament as shall be required.

Source: MoGCSP