Graduation Programs: Creating Ladders Out of Extreme Poverty

October 9, 20113

By: Elizabeth NaahImplementation Coordinator, IPA Ghana

• Context of poverty in Ghana• Over 40% people live on less than a dollar a-day• About 50% poor live in rural and deprived communities• Problems such as: poor feeding practices, poor sanitation,

inadequate health care, lack of potable water etc.

• Absence of government and NGO programs• Lack of collaboration between gov’t/NGOs frustrate implementers

• The Pilot• Inspired by BRAC and promoted by CGAP/Ford as part of their

global graduation program• Northern Ghana• Aim: moving ultra poor out of extreme poverty• 1,394 clients in 155 communities• Selection of “ultra poor”: participatory wealth ranking (PWR)• Provided services/products

• The Partners• Presbyterian Agricultural Services (PAS)-local NGO• IPA, Ghana

• Program goals• To move households from chronic extreme poverty into self-sufficiency• To develop sustainable livelihoods for the ultra poor• To graduate the Ultra poor to be able to participate in microfinance, if

they so choose

• Evaluate program components using RCT methodology• Three districts• 4000 households (1394 “treatment”)• 30 field extension agents providing services to clients• 24 months

Evaluation design– Graduation from Ultra poverty (GUP) – 662 households

• Transfer of assets for enterprise development (goats, pigs, poultry, processing equipment for Shea butter/ rice/ malt, farming inputs)

• Enterprise development training and weekly coaching• Consumption support• National Health Insurance• Mobilization of savings (weekly; 50% of GUP)• Health/nutrition and finance education (weekly)

– Savings Out of Ultra Poverty (SOUP) – 732 households• Mobilized savings (weekly)• One time finance training

– Asset Only program – 131 households• One time dropping of 4 goats per client

– Bag Add-ons program – 1200 households• Skills training• Materials for bag making• Paid a piece rate per bag sown

• Evaluation still ongoing• Implementation achievements:

– 1045 bank accounts opened with rural banks– ~95% of saving clients saved regularly– More than $50 saved per client; mobilization of over $48k

savings – Provision of over $150k of consumption support

Livestock assets Number of clients July 2011 July 2013

Goats 499 1969 4630

Hens 397 1589 3810

Pigs 24 48 650

• Key lessons learned:– How best to select ultra poor household - Full suite of PWR

– Encourage certain good practices/behaviors - cultural practices should be carefully looked at and handled

– Weekly debriefing meetings with field agents

– Re-sensitization of community committees

– Intensive monitoring

• Key lessons learned Cont.– Transparent and solid finance systems is essential

– Clients increased their participation in community gatherings/decision making

– Continuous dialoging with Government/NGOs would help.

– Link graduation programs with Safety net programs

– Proper exiting is important

• Next steps:– Plan and discussion underway to provide money boxes to savings clients

– Some rural banks have opened new branches

– The rural banks started re-sensitization on savings

– IPA plans to expand depending on evaluation results

– PAS extending agric services to project communities

– Positive Deviant (PD) model as a way to cut down cost for scale up of good practices (e.g. saving) within communities

• Some final lessons learnt…– Graduation programs definitely require integration

– It also requires genuine and coordinated actions

– Some segments of target groups cannot graduate but require continuous support

Thank You!