Ato Forson announces GH¢3.4bn for Gender Ministry, GH¢2.1bn for School Feeding Programme

The government has allocated GH¢3.4 billion to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in the 2027 Budget to strengthen social protection programmes and support vulnerable individuals and households across the country. The allocation includes GH¢1.1 billion for the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, GH¢2.1 billion for the School Feeding Programme and additional funding for interventions targeting vulnerable groups, victims of domestic violence and people affected by child and human trafficking.

Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, announced the allocations while presenting the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament. He said the funding was intended to support vulnerable people and strengthen the services and interventions designed to improve their welfare. “We have allocated GH¢3.4 billion to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to support vulnerable people and the services intended for them,” he told Parliament.

GH¢1.1bn for LEAP programme A major component of the allocation is GH¢1.1 billion for the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme. Dr Forson said the funding would provide relief to extremely poor and vulnerable households through the social protection initiative. The LEAP programme provides financial assistance to eligible households facing extreme poverty, with the broader objective of improving their welfare and supporting access to essential services.

The GH¢1.1 billion provision is expected to sustain the government’s support for households that rely on the programme to meet some of their basic needs. School Feeding Programme receives GH¢2.1bn The government has also allocated GH¢2.1 billion to the School Feeding Programme to support the provision of meals to schoolchildren. Dr Forson said the allocation was intended to ensure that hunger did not become a barrier to children’s learning.

The programme is a key social intervention aimed at supporting pupils’ participation in education through the provision of meals in beneficiary schools. The GH¢2.1 billion allocation represents the largest of the specific provisions announced for the Ministry and is intended to sustain the programme’s operations. GH¢40m for Social Protection Fund In addition to the LEAP and School Feeding Programme allocations, government has earmarked GH¢40 million for the Social Protection Fund.

According to the Finance Minister, the funding will strengthen support for vulnerable people. The allocation is expected to complement existing social protection interventions and provide additional resources for addressing the needs of disadvantaged groups. Domestic Violence Fund gets GH¢10m Dr Forson further announced GH¢10 million for the Domestic Violence Fund.

The provision is intended to support interventions addressing domestic violence and strengthen assistance for people affected by abuse. The allocation forms part of government’s broader commitment to social protection and services for vulnerable individuals. GH¢10m for Child and Human Trafficking Fund Another GH¢10 million has been allocated to the Child and Human Trafficking Fund.

Dr Forson said the funding would support protection and response efforts targeting child and human trafficking. Through the GH¢3.4 billion provision, government says it intends to strengthen the delivery of social protection services and sustain programmes designed to improve the welfare of vulnerable people across Ghana.