Accra, Feb. 21, GNA -  The Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare on Tuesday began a four-day workshop to sensitise its officials and agencies on safety nets or social intervention programmes.

These are non-contributory transfer programmes generally targeted at the poor or those vulnerable to shocks or economic challenges.

Some of the interventions include cash transfers to the poor, distribution of food, public workfare jobs, general price subsidies and waiver of fees for essential services such as health and education.

Mr Kalanidhi Subbarao, Consultant on Social Protection at the World Bank, addressing the opening session in Accra noted that social nets when well implemented would in the long term alleviate poverty among the needy.

“Safety nets and transfers have an immediate impact on inequality and extreme poverty and enables households make better investments in their future.”

He said child nutrition, school attendance and production would increase tremendously when governments take safety nets seriously.

Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, Out-going Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, said the workshop was organised to enhance capacity of the Ministry to develop, coordinate and implement social safety net programmes in the country.

“It is for the participants to share knowledge and experiences with their counterparts in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the Regions and Districts.”

Some of the issues to be discussed include global patterns of safety nets; cost involved in safety nets implementations and its limitations, human rights aspects of social nets and political motivations for it.