Livelihood empowerment programme for out-of-school adolescent girls launched

A livelihood empowerment programme targeted at out-of-school adolescent girls and young female adults has been launched in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.

Dubbed “Livelihood Empowerment and Production Inclusion Programme for out-of-school adolescent girls (LEPIP), the pilot programme is aimed at empowering young women, enhancing their decision-making capabilities and granting them greater autonomy over their lives.

With a focus on adolescent girls, be they unmarried or young mothers in various marital situations, the programme will address their unique challenges and contribute to securing a brighter future for them and their families.

Target

Targeted at adolescent girls between the ages of 16 and 21 living in the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) and the Ghana Health Service Adolescent Safety Net programme, it is being piloted in the East Mamprusi Municipality in the North-East Region and Kassena Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region respectively.

It will run from 2024 to 2027 under the leadership of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) and its partners, including the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Ghana Education Service (GES), among others with technical and financial support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The intervention will include life skills training, business management, technical/craftsmanship training, start-up cash grants, marketing and financial literacy coaching, and linkages to critical social services such as health, and nutrition, among others.

Collective commitment

In a speech read on his behalf at the official launch of the programme recently, the Chief Director, MLGDRD, Alhaji Amin Abdul-Rahaman, said the initiative underscored the collective commitment of stakeholders towards supporting vulnerable adolescent girls.

He stated that the move represented a significant advancement in their ongoing mission to empower and support vulnerable populations, particularly at the local level where such interventions were critically imperative.

He said the programme marked the start of a pilot initiative aimed at reversing and addressing the challenges faced by adolescent girls by providing comprehensive vocational training, essential business skills and holistic support to at-risk girls.

End child marriage

A Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF, Christiana Gbedemah, said the LEPIP programme was designed to support efforts to prevent and respond to child marriage and teenage pregnancies in Ghana.

She stated that the intervention was under the umbrella of the UNFPA-UNICEF global programme to end child marriage launched in 2016 and designed to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal Five.

She indicated that the programme was aimed at improving income security and economic opportunities for vulnerable adolescent girls as well as increasing the bodily autonomy and the decision-making power of the beneficiary girls.

Demonstration

Launching the programme, the Upper East Regional Minister, Alhaji Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, used the occasion to urge the Municipal Chief Executives (MCEs) and other officers to support the project team to ensure the successful implementation of the project to the benefit of the selected poor households in the respective municipalities.

“I urge all stakeholders to work together with a sense of urgency and cooperation to uplift the vulnerable, create opportunities for productive work and build the foundation for a more resilient and inclusive Ghana” Dr Salih stated.

Writer’s email:gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh