Dignitaries at the event
UNICEF
Ghana has engaged stakeholders on the need to see social protection as an
inherent entitlement or right, rather than as charity for programme beneficiaries.
The
meeting brought together key players from the Ministry of Gender, Children and
Social Protection, researchers, NGOs, CSOs and the media to discuss the extent
to which rights-principles have been integrated into routine social protection
programmes.
It
was also to enable participants reflect on how rights-principles have been
built in social protection efforts as a nation while identifying some
possibilities for its sustainability.
The
maiden meeting held in Accra was themed, “Are Ghanaians receiving the social
protection they deserve?”
Deputy
Country Director for UNICEF, Aarti Saihjee, in her address commended the
country for the various social protection programmes being rolled-out.
She
indicated that it was important to reflect on how rights-principles are built
into the country’s social protection efforts because embedding rights-principles
in social protection affects how programmes are designed, implemented and the
outcomes expected in reducing poverty and vulnerability.
“Embedding
rights-principles in social protection is crucial in ensuring that citizens
receive the kind of social protection they need throughout their lifecycle and
are empowered to ask questions when faced with delivery gaps.
This
puts a responsibility on the state and service providers to create the
necessary enabling environment for effective and efficient programme delivery,”
she said.
This
she said will ensure for example consistency in the flow of funds
to social protection programmes and for the progressive implementation of a
national social protection floor to ensure all Ghanaians have access to social
protection when they need it.
She said UNICEF is committed to
working with its partners to promote the application of rights-principles in
social protection delivery and called on stakeholders to embrace the new
direction that social protection has taken in developing countries.
General
Manager of Agricultural Workers Union, Mr. Kinsley Ofei Nkansah in his address
said in spite of the progress made by the country in the introduction of the Livelihood
Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), some people still live in poverty.
He thus emphasized the need for a holistic social protection scheme approach which he believes will improve the lives of the about three million Ghanaians living in poverty.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri & Nadia Nimako
