An integrated poverty alleviation programme, aimed at uplifting the critically (extremely) poor from their predicament is in the offing. Known as the National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS), the programme together with other poverty reduction interventions is expected to empower the very vulnerable in society by providing for their basic needs and get them out of poverty. The programme is under the auspices of the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment (MMYE). Mrs Angela Asante-Asare, NSPS National Coordinator, told a sensitization workshop in Ho that the programme was not a project, but a mainstream policy of government to cushion people from becoming destitute. She said the programme strategy, which represented investment in the poor, would dovetail into existing poverty alleviation programmes, which often left out the very poor. Officers from the Department of Social Welfare, District Assemblies, some District Chief Executives, Labour Officers and representatives of the Ghana Education Service among others attended the workshop. Mrs Asante-Asare said poverty trends based on various studies indicated that an estimated 40 percent of Ghanaians regarded as poor were classified as being able to meet their "basic nutritional needs, while unable to access health facilities, get adequate shelter, clothing and education. She said 14.7 percent out of the 40 who fell under the "extreme poor" were unable to cater for basic human needs, including their nutritional requirements and additionally suffered from inter-generational poverty. Mrs Asante-Asare said the cycle of poverty for some families must be stopped to enable them to join the rest of Ghanaians to work to attain national developmental goals. She said the main flagship plan under the programme was the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) operating under the slogan "Investing In People". Mrs Asante-Asare said under LEAP, the orphaned and vulnerable children, people above 65 years who are extremely poor and persons with severe disabilities who had no productive capacity would be identified for social grants. Mr Mawutor Goh, Ho Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) who opened the workshop called for the elimination of corruption, favouritism, nepotism and bureaucratic bottlenecks in the administration of poverty alleviation interventions. Dr William Ahadzi, Centre of Social Policy Studies of the University of Ghana in a paper said governments must provide interventions to cater for the social consequences of some economic policies. He said the trend now was for even the World Bank and its affiliates to incorporate social mitigation variants alongside their stringent economic programmes. Source: GNA