QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE GHANA LIVELIHOODS EMPOWERMENT AGAINST POVERTY (LEAP) 1000 ON IPV

Study description

LEAP 1000 is part of Ghana’s flagship Social Protection scheme and provides bi-monthly cash transfers and premium waivers to enroll into the National Health Insurance scheme to women who are pregnant or have a child under the age of 12 months. LEAP 1000 was first piloted in ten districts in Northern Ghana and has since been scaled-up into the LEAP program nationwide. A prior quasi-experimental impact evaluation conducted from 2015 – 2017 demonstrated that LEAP 1000 reduced emotional and physical IPV. This study is a follow-up to understand the context in which LEAP 1000 was implemented and the mechanisms through which the program reduced IPV among pregnant women and new mothers. The qualitative study was conducted in two out of the five original districts five districts selected for the quantitative impact evaluation in the Northern and Upper East Regions, taking advantage of the fact that LEAP 1000 payments were ongoing, and contemporaneous experiences of women could be studied. The four primary research questions include: (1) Through what mechanisms does LEAP 1000 reduce IPV, including if and how the health insurance waiver (if at all) contribute to these mechanisms? (2) What role does family structure (monogamous vs. polygamous) play in moderating program impacts and experience of IPV? (3) How do women view risk factors for IPV as evolving throughout the pregnant or post-partum period, including interactions with receipt of LEAP 1000? (4) How do men in study communities view norms and role of IPV in partnerships? How to men respond to or view the receipt of LEAP 1000 by their wives and by women in their communities with respect to relationship dynamics?

For more information: Transfer Project Ghana Country Webpage