NewzThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Government of Ghana and development partners have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening institutional capacity, gender equality and women’s empowerment across West Africa. The partners pledged to deepen collaboration to promote inclusive and sustainable development through stronger institutions, improved coordination and evidence-based policymaking. The commitment was reaffirmed at the 2026 ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) Annual Briefing and Information Sharing Session with Gender Focal Persons from ECOWAS Member States in Accra.
The meeting reviewed the Centre’s achievements between 2022 and 2026 and outlined its strategic priorities for the 2026-2030 period. Ambassador Mohammed Lawan Gana, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, commended the Government for hosting the meeting and reaffirmed the ECOWAS Commission’s commitment to advancing gender equality in the sub-region. He said the meeting sought to strengthen collaboration among member states, build the capacity of national gender focal persons to implement regional gender policies and programmes, and introduce the ECOWAS Gender Observatory to improve gender data collection, reporting, analysis and evidence-based policymaking.
Ambassador Gana acknowledged progress in women’s leadership, education, entrepreneurship and peacebuilding but said persistent gender inequalities, limited institutional capacity, weak coordination mechanisms and inadequate financial resources continued to constrain progress. He called for stronger institutions, sustainable financing, improved coordination and enhanced technical capacity to advance the ECOWAS Gender Policy, Agenda 2063, the Maputo Protocol, Sustainable Development Goal Five and the ECOWAS 2026-2030 Strategic Agenda. Madam Valerie Arikpo-Ettah, Technical Advisor for the Women, Youth, Peace and Security component of the GIZ-ECOWAS Peace, Security and Governance Project, reaffirmed GIZ’s commitment to supporting ECOWAS in promoting gender equality, peace, security and good governance.
She said investment in women and girls was both a moral obligation and a strategic investment for sustainable development, resilience and inclusive economic growth, and underscored the importance of reliable data, timely reporting and knowledge sharing to support evidence-based policymaking and accountability.… Ghana and Gabon have underscored the need for African communities to collectively shun and decisively address xenophobic attacks and all forms of discrimination that threaten the cohesion and shared progress of the continent. President John Dramani Mahama and his visiting Gabonese counterpart President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema reiterated their commitment to maintaining close consultation and coordination within the African Union, the United Nations, the African Continental Free Trade Area framework, and other multilateral fora on issues of common interest, with the aim of advancing Africa’s collective interests.
The two leaders made the call at the end of their bilateral talks on day one of President Nguema’s three-day state visit to Ghana, at the invitation of President Mahama. A communique issued at the end of their bilateral meeting reaffirmed their commitment to the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), recognising the importance of collective African action to promote peace, sustainable development and shared prosperity. The two Heads of State exchanged views on regional, continental and international developments.
They reaffirmed their commitment to the purposes and principles of the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the United Nations Charter, and pledged to continue working together to promote peace, security, constitutional governance, democracy, the rule of law and sustainable development on the African continent. President Mahama commended the ongoing efforts of the Government of Gabon towards national development, economic transformation and regional stability. President Nguema, for his part, commended Ghana’s continued commitment to democratic governance, regional peace and African integration.
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