The Caretaker Minister of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has outlined the successes chalked by the Ministry from August 2020 to date.
Ms Dapaah said the Ministry had in the last one year, five months, initiated the Orange Support Centre, the Single Window Citizen Engagement Services, Social Welfare Information Management System, LEAP Management Information System and the Ghana National Household Registry Database.
She was speaking on the theme: “Digitalisation in service,” at the Minister’s press briefing yesterday in Accra.
Ms Dapaah, who is the substantive Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, noted that the Orange Support Centre (OSC) was a technological platform that provided “information and support for survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, including child marriage in Ghana.”
“The OSC comes in two folds; the call in section (a toll free line) and the mobile app referred to as the “Boame” App. The Centre demonstrates the continuous efforts from all stakeholders to bring to zero all forms of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Ghana,” she added.
Ms Dapaah said From March to June 2021, 1,448 calls were received through the toll free number (0 800 111 222) and resolved.
Greater Accra Region has the highest number of cases reported while the Bono and Western North Regions have the lowest number of reported cases.
Ms Dapaah said the Single Window Citizen Engagement Services provided a one stop point for citizens to report grievances for redress about the implementation of the major social protection flagship programmes.
“Some of the major typology of cases addressed under the Single Window Citizen Engagement Services include; child abuse, educational support, anti-human trafficking, rape/defilement, child custody and child maintenance,” she added.
Regarding the Ghana National Household Registry, Ms Dapaah said it would serve as a national data repository for the targeting and selection of the extreme poor in the country.
She said “so far, data has been collected in five regions, namely, Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East and the Upper West.”
The Caretaker Minister stressed that the LEAP system enabled the Ministry to undertake proper targeting of beneficiaries, analyse, monitor and evaluate data, perform payroll functions and disaggregate data by sex, age, and location.
She said the Ministry, in collaboration with UNICEF, had introduced the Social Welfare Information Management System (SWIMS), a document and report on the provision of social welfare services such as Child Protection, Social Protection and Gender–Based Violence.
Ms Dapaah said SWIMS had covered areas including “case management, family Reunification and Alternative Care , incident Monitoring and Monitoring and Reporting.
She registered the Ministry’s resolve to continually implement programmes and policies that would contribute to the growth and development of the country amidst strict enforcement and adherence of the COVID-19 safety protocols.
BY ABIGAIL ARTHUR
