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ABSTRACT
The 1992 Constitution of the republic of Ghana obligates the state to guarantee that all citizens have access to social and economic livelihood. As a consequence, the government implemented the ongoing Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme in 2008 to sustain development in these areas. Although Ghana has achieved progress in reducing extreme poverty and hunger, there is considerable evidence of poverty and widening inequality across the country. This study draws on the theoretical lens of the human rights-based approach (HRBA) to poverty reduction to examine how the implementation of the LEAP programme aligns with beneficiaries’ human rights entitlements. The findings suggest that the LEAP programme has led to some positive outcomes for beneficiaries, including enhanced self-esteem and happiness, household cohesion, social interaction and increased community involvement for beneficiaries. Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that the implementation of the LEAP programme only partially aligns with the HRBA to poverty reduction, which potentially undermines efforts to eradicate poverty and sustain development in Ghana.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Article 12 (1) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution state that these rights shall be respected by all the arms of government, and all persons in the country are entitled to enjoy these rights (Government of Ghana, Citation1992).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Bright James Nyarkoh
Bright James Nyarkoh is a Lecturer in the Department of Development Studies, S D Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Ghana. His research interests include the human rights-based approach to poverty reduction, community-based empowerment in development programming, and decision-making in utilising economic resources in households in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Vicki Banham
Vicki Banham is an Associate Dean, Social Science within the School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University, Australia.
Ann-Claire Larsen
Ann-Claire Larsen is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in the Criminology Discipline at the School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University, Australia.