LEAP has positive impact on families - study

Challenging Heights, a non- governmental organisation that promotes children, youth and family empowerment, says the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme is making a positive impact on many families.

A study conducted to ascertain the linkages between Social Protection and Children's Care in Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa and made available to the Ghana News Agency, said the relationship within some households improved due to the receipt of LEAP.

"Cash transfers support caregivers in purchasing food, clothing and other basic needs particularly in the context of a large family size," the study said.

It said the provision of cash transfer directly reduced poverty and improved living conditions including shelter.

The study said this improved the ability to provide the basic needs of children and may lead to improved relationships between parents, adding that it could also prevent family separation or loss of parental care.

Challenging Heights, however, noted that not all the children in the recipient homes benefitted equally adding that non-biological children generally had lower levels of well-being than biological children in the same family.

The study concluded that an increase in the transfer size in conjunction with the removal of relaxation cap on the maximum number of beneficiaries per household would particularly benefit children as they are more likely to live in larger households.