Evaluating the Impact of Social Protection Programs on Beneficiaries: The Case of Ghana

Proceedings of The 4th World Conference on Research in Education

Year: 2021

DOI:

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Evaluating the Impact of Social Protection Programs on Beneficiaries: The Case of Ghana

Joseph Kwame Sarfo-Adu

ABSTRACT: 

The concept and practice of social protection has gained prominence over the last decade in developing countries. This rise to prominence has led to growing consensus around the globe that social protection constitutes an effective response to the issues of poverty, deprivation, risk and vulnerability in developing countries, and serves as a condicio sine qua non component of economic and social development strategies. It is against this backdrop that policy design and implementation of social protection programs have equally become significant in the discourse of development. This paper situates social protection in the Ghana context as constituting an effective response to the issue of poverty and vulnerability. It examines social protection interventions that have been designed and implemented in Ghana ,and the impacts they have accrued towards poverty alleviation.The qualitative multiple case study approach was adopted to explore the impact of the various social protection programs (NHIS, LEAP, SFP, NYEP, and Capitation grant) on their respective beneficiaries. Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews were used to obtain data from selected communities in both Northern and Southern Ghana. In this study, an impact evaluation of social protection programs on beneficiaries in Ghana has been assessed. The study adopted the OECD evaluation criteria in assessing the impact of these programs. We found that the programs designed and implemented are good responses to the issues of poverty, vulnerability, deprivation and risks. What is more, there should be the commitment of all stakeholders to establish social protection mechanisms that will work efficiently for the good of all the people of Ghana.

keywords: Social Protection, Implementation, Impact evaluation, Poverty alleviation.