Can $12.6m From ECOWAS Help West Africa Overcome Terrorism’s Impact?

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it has committed $12.6 million to humanitarian efforts in the West African region in 2024.

Speaking in Abuja at the opening of a two-day Strategic Engagement Workshop with Heads of government-owned television stations in West Africa organised by the ECOWAS Commission in collaboration with the Media Foundation For West Africa (MFWA), Dr. Sintiki Tarfa-Ugbe, Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission, said Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, and the contiguous countries that are bearing the spillover effects of terrorism received $4 million.

The ECOWAS Director stated that the commission has a strong humanitarian response mechanism in place and is able to properly monitor and receive feedback on its interventions.

She stated: “We are aware that our countries continue to face a number of challenges, including conflict, terrorism, climate change, and food insecurity. However, our organisation, the ECOWAS Commission, continues to assist our member states in strengthening their resilience and recovery from some of the challenges they continue to encounter.

“As I mentioned in my presentation, the ECOWAS Commission has committed $2.6 million this year to assist persons of concern in our region, including displaced people, refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants. Also, you are aware that our region, particularly the Sahel, is still dealing with terrorist attacks and a large number of victims.

“So, for our humanitarian response to terrorism victims, $4 million has been committed to support the frontline states of Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso, as well as the contiguous countries that are bearing the spillover effects of terrorism.” Of course, you are aware of Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire.”

She also mentioned that, despite providing grants to governments, the commission has been able to monitor their implementation.

She stated, “Our implementation is guided by a strong ECOWAS humanitarian response mechanism. Monitoring and evaluation are critical components of that response mechanism.

Tarfa-Ugbe explained, citing the example of Togo, that the implementation of our project is a collaboration between the Togo government, the Civil Protection Agency, and the World Food Programme. As you can see, we have a solid agreement with the member state and its partners.

“And what we do is, when we give grants, we send out monitoring and evaluation missions. So far, we have visited four countries. We went to Togo to see the programs firsthand and speak with the beneficiaries.

“So we went to Togo, to the northern part of Togo, and we saw that our assistance had enabled them to, you know, get funding to cultivate more areas of land, which they could not do individually, as well as access fertiliser to grow their crops. We have also seen in some of the countries where they have been providing cash assistance to strengthen their livelihood support, whether it is small-scale businesses, so that they can recover. This is critical for enhancing community resilience.

“We went to Gambia, and as you can see from one of my presentations, we provided food and nutrition assistance in Gambia, as well as flood assistance in Gambia, totalling approximately $900,000. And our team was there; they witnessed people receiving cash assistance. You are aware that the food and nutrition situation in all countries has made things extremely difficult this year.

“We have also travelled to Liberia to see some of the responses we have provided. Food Nutrition.

In his keynote address, Abdou Kolley, Director of Cabinet of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, stated that in recent years, “our Community has faced and continues to face daunting challenges.” With the announced withdrawal of three Member States, threats to regional peace, and numerous terrorist attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives, unemployment among youth and women, the immediate consequence of which is the migratory crisis and the deaths of our fellow citizens in the desert and in the Mediterranean Sea.”

He went on to say, “These crises are exacerbated by issues of democratic governance, poverty, and natural disasters caused by floods or serious fires in some of our Member States, resulting in dire humanitarian crises.”

Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), stated in his remarks that MFWA’s partnership and collaboration with ECOWAS is taking place at a time when the world, and indeed our region, is highly polarised, making it difficult, if not impossible, to reach consensus on matters of mutual interest. And it is happening at a time when the climate crisis and its consequences are worsening.

He stated, “Of course, in the midst of all these challenges, community citizens have high expectations of their ECOWAS, and as expected, some are questioning whether ECOWAS is truly serving the interests of community citizens.”

He stated that “addressing the critical challenges of our time will require that community citizens be given avenues and opportunities to fully participate in deliberative and governance processes.” It is essential that community members are well-informed and have access to accurate information on critical issues.

“It also requires that citizens be informed and educated about ECOWAS’s activities and impact, as well as the role that they, as citizens, can play in supplementing ECOWAS’s efforts to address the challenges we face collectively.

“However, doing all of these will necessitate the existence of a vibrant, free, and professional media, as envisioned in the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework, among other statutes.

The workshop aims to strengthen collaboration and partnership between ECOWAS, the media, and critical stakeholders in promoting peace, prosperity, and democracy among ECOWAS Member States, ultimately contributing to the vision of “ECOWAS of the Peoples: Peace and Prosperity for All.”