The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has begun a three-day working visit to the Northern and North East Regions to monitor the ongoing Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) beneficiary enrolment exercise.

The visit is also aimed at engaging key stakeholders on the implementation and expansion of the LEAP programme.

The Minister is accompanied by members of the Ministry’s Advisory Board and management staff as part of efforts to assess the progress of the nationwide enrolment exercise.

As part of her activities in the Northern Region, Dr Lartey paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Fuo, Abdulai Neindow, in the Sagnarigu Municipality before visiting the community’s LEAP enrolment centre.

At the centre, she interacted with beneficiaries, registration officials and community members and observed the enrolment process to assess its efficiency and ensure that eligible households are enrolled transparently.

Speaking to the media, Dr Lartey said the monitoring exercise formed part of the Ministry’s efforts to ensure the successful implementation of the expanded LEAP programme, which aims to enrol 400,000 beneficiary households nationwide.

She said the exercise would enable the Ministry to assess field operations, identify challenges and implement timely interventions to improve service delivery.

The Minister also highlighted the importance of the nationwide LEAP reassessment, explaining that it was intended to update beneficiary data, strengthen the integrity of the programme and ensure that support reaches the most vulnerable households.

According to her, the reassessment would help minimise inclusion and exclusion errors while promoting fairness, accountability and effective targeting of social protection interventions.

The three-day visit will also involve engagements with stakeholders across the Northern and North East Regions to assess the progress of the enrolment exercise.

Dr Lartey is also expected to visit the Gambaga Alleged Witches Camp as part of the tour.