Poverty reduction in Upper West Region, Ghana: role of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme

ABSTRACT

The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme was established in Ghana to tackle poverty, yet studies on LEAP yielded inconclusive results on its effects. This article reports on an assessment of the effects of LEAP on poverty reduction, using an “after-only” study design. Results suggest that beneficiaries saw improvement in food consumption, income levels, savings levels, access to healthcare, and school attendance following participation in LEAP. The study concludes that LEAP contributed to poverty reduction as it enhanced beneficiaries’ living conditions. It recommends that LEAP targeting be based on the Ghana National Household Registry’s database to eliminate inclusion errors.

KEYWORDS:

• Labour and livelihoods - Poverty reduction
• Governance and public policy
• Environment (built and natural) - Food security
• Sub-Saharan Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Moses Naiim Fuseini holds a PhD in Development Studies from the School for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His research interests cover poverty, inequality, social protection, rural development, conflict management and governance.

Francis Enu-Kwesi is an Associate Professor from the School for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His research centres on poverty, social protection, human resource management and microfinance.

Mohammed Sulemana is the Head of the Department of Governance and Development Management of the Faculty of Planning and Land Management, University for Development Studies, Ghana. His research interests cover planning, poverty, conflict management and governance.

Notes

1 At the time of the study, one Ghana cedi was the equivalent of 23 US cents.