Social Protection in Ghana—History, Equity-Driven Reforms, Financing and Sustainability

Social protection has become very important in development policy, due partly to the widening gap in health, income and opportunities between the rich and the poor. The growing number of national social protection policies and interventions implemented by many developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, ties into the emerging consensus around the view that social protection provides an effective response to poverty and vulnerability in developing countries. This chapter examines the history of social protection in Ghana, highlighting the key social protection reforms and interventions to assess how they are aligned with the attainment of societal equity. The historical antecedent of social protection policies and programs in the past three to four decades is therefore provided in order to illustrate a rigorous background for the design and strengthening of social protection in the decade ahead. We also provide a discussion on the financing of social protection policies and their long-term sustainability, emphasizing the role of technology in the sustainable delivery and targeting of social protection programs.