The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), Madam Lariba Zuweira Abudu, has said the effects of COVID-19, especially on the vulnerable, calls for investment in skills development and entrepreneurship.

That, according to her, would ensure steady growth and build resilience to endure such pandemics in the future.

The Minister said this at the launch of the post-COVID -19 skills development and productivity enhancement project on Tuesday in Accra.

She said the Ministry was hoping that a gender parity principle would be adopted by the skill development project to increase the number of women accessing technical and vocational skills development opportunities and credit services for businesses.

Madam Abudu pledged the Ministry's support for the project, noting that it is expected to contribute to gender equality and women's empowerment.

She said during the pandemic, women and youth who were in the informal sector, were hardest hit because they typically earn less, have fewer savings and held less secure jobs.

"Our health system was stressed with huge numbers of COVID-19 cases to manage, which shook the foundations of our healthcare system and other sectors such as hospitality, tourism and retail. It deprived many of their livelihoods. Across all regions, women were more likely to drop out of the labour force during the pandemic for some women in frontline jobs, such as healthcare providers and domestic workers, the pandemic forced them to choose between economic security and their health," she added.

The launch of the Post COVID-19 skills development and productivity enhancement project seeks to support health-related skills development in higher education to enhance Ghana's healthcare delivery system and promote technical and entrepreneurship to create jobs for young people.