Ghana's poorest households now receive an average of GHS 569.14 every two months from the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, up 70% from GHS 334.00 in 2024, according to the 2027 Budget Statement presented on 12 November.
That is about GHS 285 a month, or GHS 9.36 a day, for a whole household.
The new rates took effect in May 2026. They run from GHS 380 to GHS 630 a cycle depending on household size and vulnerability, or roughly GHS 6.25 to GHS 10.36 a day (paras 1420–1421). The government has also introduced an "indexation mechanism" so that grants move with prices, and has raised the ceiling on households the scheme may cover from 350,000 to 400,000.
All 350,000 current beneficiary households were reassessed. The government says 226,000 households have "graduated out of extreme poverty" under LEAP.
What GHS 569 means in a household budget
Think of it against a day's pay. The national daily minimum wage is GHS 21.77 this year and rises to GHS 25.04 in January (Budget para 662).
The average LEAP household gets about 43% of one worker's daily minimum wage today, and 37% of next year's, to share among everyone in the home. The Budget describes LEAP as relief for extremely poor and vulnerable households, not a substitute for a wage.
Has it beaten prices? Yes, comfortably
The rise is real, not just a bigger number. Bank of Ghana tables, using Ghana Statistical Service data, put the consumer price index at 248.3 in December 2024 and 268.5 in August 2026, a rise of 8.1%. The 2024 grant of GHS 334 would need to be about GHS 361 today just to buy the same basket.
At GHS 569.14, households are about 58% better off in real terms. Even on the harshest test, starting from June 2024 prices (226.4), the real gain is about 44%.
Headline inflation was 5.5% in October 2026. The Budget targets 8.0% inflation by the end of 2027.
Average per household. The third column is the 2024 grant adjusted for consumer prices to August 2026.
Source: 2027 Budget Statement paras 1420–1421, 1566; Bank of Ghana Summary of Economic and Financial Data (CPI from GSS); StatsGH calculation, assuming six cycles a year.
The catch: the stated 2027 allocation is tight at 2026 rates
The Budget "set aside" GHS 1.1 billion for LEAP in 2027 (para 1566). It does not say whether that sum is the full cash-grant pot, the Government of Ghana share only, or a figure that also covers administration or National Health Insurance costs for LEAP households.
A separate GHS 40 million is allocated to the Social Protection Fund (para 1568). Development partners could add more; the Statement does not split funding sources.
At the 2026 average of GHS 569.14 a cycle, and assuming six cycles a year, one household costs GHS 3,414.84 a year. Against the stated GHS 1.1 billion allocation, that covers about 322,000 households.
Cost at GHS 569.14 a cycle for six cycles. Gaps are measured against the stated GHS 1.1 billion only, before any 2027 indexation.
Source: 2027 Budget Statement paras 1420–1421, 1566; Bank of Ghana Summary of Economic and Financial Data (CPI from GSS); StatsGH calculation, assuming six cycles a year.
The Budget says all 350,000 current beneficiary households were reassessed (para 1420). Paying all of them the current average for a full year would cost about GHS 1.195 billion, GHS 95 million more than the stated allocation.
Filling the new 400,000 ceiling would cost about GHS 1.366 billion, a gap of GHS 266 million against the same allocation. Those gaps are measured only against the stated GHS 1.1 billion, and they are before any indexation for 2027 prices.
Put another way, if the stated GHS 1.1 billion were shared among 350,000 households over six cycles, each cycle would pay about GHS 524, not GHS 569. Shared among 400,000, it would be about GHS 458.
Appendix 3C bundles "Transfers for Social Protection (LEAP, SFP, CG, Others)" at GHS 2.26 billion in 2027, which is less than the GHS 1.1 billion plus GHS 2.1 billion named for LEAP and school feeding in the narrative. The Statement does not explain the difference, so the coverage figures above use the stated GHS 1.1 billion allocation only, not a confirmed cash-grant envelope.
The Statement also does not say how many payment cycles are planned for 2027, or whether some households will leave the scheme.
The school-feeding sum is closer
School feeding gets GHS 2.1 billion in 2027 (para 1567), up 6.1% from GHS 1.98 billion in 2026. The feeding grant rose from GHS 1.50 to GHS 2.00 a child (+33%), and 4.53 million pupils are fed daily (para 1423).
At GHS 2.00 a plate, that is GHS 9.06 million for each school day, so GHS 2.1 billion would buy about 232 days of meals if every cedi went on food. That is more than a typical school year, though the 2026/27 calendar has not been checked, and it leaves no room for a higher grant if food prices climb.
What it means for you
If your household is on LEAP, expect GHS 380–630 every two months, depending on your size and vulnerability. If you are among the 50,000 households the expanded ceiling could add, the stated 2027 allocation would not cover you at today's average grant unless other money is added or fewer cycles are paid.
Watch for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection's 2027 payment schedule, and for how the promised indexation is applied.
Sources
- Ministry of Finance, The 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, presented 12 November 2026: paras 1420–1421 (LEAP grant GH¢334.00 → GH¢569.14, +70%; rates GH¢380–630 per bi-monthly cycle from May 2026; ceiling 350,000 → 400,000; 350,000 households reassessed; 226,000 graduated), 1423 (school feeding 4.53m pupils, GH¢1.98bn 2026, grant GH¢1.50 → GH¢2.00), 1565 (Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection GH¢3.4bn), 1566 (LEAP GH¢1.1bn 2027, no funding-source split), 1567 (school feeding GH¢2.1bn 2027), 1568 (Social Protection Fund GH¢40m), 662 (minimum wage GH¢21.77 → GH¢25.04 from 1 January 2027), 796 (8.0% end-2027 inflation target), and Appendix 3C (Transfers for Social Protection (LEAP, SFP, CG, Others) GH¢2,261,256,475 in the 2027 Budget; 2028–2030 indicative). Appendix 2C gives the same bundled line for 2026 as GH¢3,460,034,976 (revised budget and Q1–Q4 projection)
- Bank of Ghana, Summary of Economic and Financial Data, September 2026 (table 1, CPI All Consumer Prices, 2021=100, to 2026:08 = 268.5), released 23 September 2026
- Bank of Ghana, Summary of Economic and Financial Data, July 2025 (table 1, CPI index 2024:06 = 226.4 and 2024:12 = 248.3)
- Bank of Ghana, Summary of Economic and Financial Data, September 2025 (table 1, CPI 2024:12 = 248.3)
- Ghana Statistical Service, October 2026 CPI (headline 5.5%), published 4 November 2026