Meet The Press Series: Focus On Ministry Of Gender, Children & Social Protection


Our Mandate:

To ensure gender equality

Promote and protect the rights and welfare of children

Empower the vulnerable, excluded, aged and people with disabilities through social protection interventions

Our Vision

A harmonious society in which the survival and development of the sexes, children, the vulnerable, and persons with disability are guaranteed

Our Mission

To achieve gender equality and equity
To facilitate the enforcement of the rights of children
To promote the integration and protection of the vulnerable, excluded and persons with disability
Our Values: Integrity ~ Excellence ~ Social Justice

Our Target Groups

Children: 38% Women 51% Men 48.7%

Persons with disability 3% Elderly 6.7% Youth 20%

POLICY OBJECTIVES

Develop a comprehensive social development policy framework

Provide timely, reliable and disaggregated data for policy making and planning

Enhance institutional arrangements for inter- and intra-sectoral collaboration

Promote gender equity in political, social and economic development systems and outcomes

Safeguard the security, safety and protection of the rights of the vulnerable in society, especially the girl child and women

Promote effective child development in all communities, especially deprived areas

Protect children against violence, abuse and exploitation

Ensure a more effective appreciation of and inclusion of disability issues in national discourse

Mainstream issues on ageing in the development planning process

MoGCSP RESTRUCTURING

With the expansion of the Ministry’s mandate, there was an urgent need to develop a new organisational structure and performance management framework to facilitate the operations of the Ministry. The Ministry engaged the services of the Management Services Division (MSD) inthe Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS) to facilitate the process of restructuring the Ministry.

2013 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Policies guided by:

Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda

Sector Medium-Term Plan (2010-2013)

Agenda for Change

2013 KEY PROJECTS

Comprehensive Restructuring Plan

Performance Management Framework

Five-year Strategic Plan

National Gender Policy

Ghana Statistics Development Project

Gender-responsive budgeting

Inaugural Women’s Summit

Gender Equality and Equity

Drafted Affirmative Action Bill

Co-sponsored Intestate Succession Bill and Property Rights of Spouses Bill

68 fistula repairs in Upper East, Upper West, Volta and Central regions

Granted scholarships to 668 girls and presented equipment in 59 districts, including 25 to Department of Community Development-run institutions and 8 to the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) under the Gender Responsive Skills and Community Development Project (GRSCDP)

Hosted side event at 58th Session of Commission on the Status of Women

Children’s Rights: Promotion, Protection and Development

Finalised the National Child Protection Policy

Commissioned development of Justice for Children Policy

Commenced review of Early Childhood Care and Development Policy

Social Development

73,134 LEAP beneficiaries in100 districts in all ten (10) regions have received social grants to improve their socio-economic status, ensure the survival and development of their children as well as promoting the welfare of the vulnerable and excluded in society. Another 4,676 have been identified and are ready to be enrolled. This represents well over a third of the 232,000 people in the target population.

The Ministry registered 288 people with disabilities (PWDs)to better target service delivery
Successfully piloted four (4) rounds ofelectronic payments of LEAP grants piloted in three (3) ecological zones for the purpose of ensuring secured, timely and efficient transfer of cash to beneficiaries.Electronic payments were piloted in nine (9) districts in seven (7) regions for 7,616 beneficiary households

Submitted Cabinet Memo and received approval to expand mandate of the Ministry

Provided 7,331 market traders affected by fire in four (4)markets with cash grants

Provided shelter and care for 800 orphans and trained 1406 caregivers in all ten (10) regions

Assisted in reuniting 983 children in orphanages with their families, and 22 orphanages that have not met requirements were also closed down

Disability

Inaugurated Disability Management Board

Developed comprehensive Disability Development Framework

Equipped 2,100 beneficiaries with hearing aids in conjunction with the Starkey Hearing
Foundation.

Aged

Established the Aged Desk in the Ministry

Initiated a policy to implement free public transport and priority access for the elderly on private transport and in hospitals and banks

Celebrated National Day for the Aged

Registered 3530aged persons on the National Health Insurance Scheme database in two months

Human Trafficking Secretariat

Finalised Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence Regulations

Developed guidelines for disbursement from Human Trafficking Fund

Referral system for victims of trafficking

Domestic Violence Secretariat

Developed communication strategy on domestic violence

First disbursement from the Domestic Violence Victim Support Fund made in May 2014

Observed 16 days of activism against gender-based violence

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Compared with other Ministries, MoGCSP is one of the Ministries with the smallest budget in spite of the large constituent it serves. The budgetary allocation to the Ministry compared to the National Budget has been below 1%.

2013 KEY CHALLENGES

Categorisation of LEAP cash transfer budget under ‘Goods and Services’

Inadequate office space to accommodate the entire Ministry, its Departments and Secretariats

Lack of funding to facilitate the restructuring

No mandate to coordinate social intervention programmes in other MDAs

Absence of M&E systems to track impact and performance

No Management Information System or Information, Communications and Technology Unit

Lack of requisite staff at all levels to implement effective and efficient interventions

Budgetary allocation not commensurate with the expansion of scope of Ministry’s mandate

2014 OUTLOOK

In 2014,our Ministry will continue to implement planned programmes and projects within its nine (9) key sector policy objectives to achieve outcomes in line with the National Medium Term Framework.

2014 OPERATIONAL PRIORITIES

Management and Administration

Implementation plan for Restructuring Plan and Performance Management Framework

Implementation of the National Gender Policy

Development of 5-year Strategic Plan

Complete Ministry office complex

Commission development of comprehensive M&E and Reporting System

Finalise Management Information Systems

Gender Equality and Equity

Mainstreaming gender into sector programs of MDAs and MMDAs

Promoting national commitment to gender equality and women’s rights and the socio-economic empowerment of women

Facilitating the enactment of the Affirmative Action, Intestate Succession and Property Rights of Spouses Bills

Children’s Rights Promotion, Protection and Development

Implementation of the Early Childhood Care Development Policy

Finalise Child and Family Welfare Policy and the Child Justice Policy

Strict implementation and enforcement of legislation regarding early and forced marriage, child labour and other detrimental practices

Social Development

Finalise development of:

 Social Protection Policy, Complementary Services (Social Protection Interventions) Registry, National Common Targeting mechanism, National Targeting Unit
 Ghana National Household Registry
 Adoption Regulations
Establish Central Adoption Agency
Accede to The Hague Convention
Prioritise registration of kayayei

Aged

ID card to all senior citizens aged 65 years and above, enabling them access to free, complementary and subsidized services

Community day carecentre for the elderly in Keta

Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking

Enact Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence Regulations

Implement National Plans of Action

Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence Rapid Response Teams

Professional psychosocial support for victims

Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence Funds

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