MEETING OF MINISTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR GENDER ISSUES IN ECOWAS MEMBER STATES FOR REFORMS PROMOTING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND LEADERSHIP OF WOMEN AND YOUTH IN WEST AFRICA

Following the meeting of experts from ECOWAS Member States, the Ministers responsible for Gender and Social Affairs held a ministerial meeting on Thursday, February 19, 2026, in Accra, Ghana, as part of the Regional Consultation on Political Participation and Leadership of Women and Youth in West Africa. The objective of this ministerial meeting was to validate the report of the experts’ meeting and define the advocacy strategy for the ECOWAS Political Declaration on Gender Parity to be submitted for adoption to the Conference of Heads of State and Government in June 2026.

The official opening ceremony of this ministerial meeting was marked by speeches from Prof Fatou SOW SARR, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, H.E. Chantal FANNY, Senator and President of the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA), H.E. Ms. Damtien TCHINTCHIBIDJA, Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Ms. Agnes Naa Momo LARTEY, Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare of the Republic of Ghana, and H.E. Ms. Isata MAHOI, Minister of Gender and Children of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

In her opening speech, Professor Fatou SOW SARR stated that this ministerial meeting marks the beginning of strong joint action. This will set the tone for reshaping the political landscape of the region with a view to greater inclusion of women and young people over the next ten years. The President of ECOFEPA, Chantal FANNY, followed by emphasising that the political participation and leadership of women and young people are now a strategic imperative for the stability and sustainable development of our region.

The Vice-President, Damtien L. TCHINTCHIBIDJA, highlighted in her speech the demographic weight of women, who represent more than half of the population in West Africa. This situation requires us to imagine and deliberately build a region where women have free access to elected and decision-making positions and participate meaningfully in public policy-making, a region where equal opportunities are not just a slogan but a living reality.

Opening the ministerial meeting, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection of the Republic of Ghana emphasised that this ministerial dialogue is both commendable and timely for the region. Ghana therefore remains committed to working closely with ECOWAS. “Ghana remains committed to learning from other Member States, sharing its experience and actively contributing to regional frameworks that promote inclusive leadership, peace and democratic resilience,” said H.E. Ms Agnes Naa Momo LARTEY.

After the bureau for the meeting was established and the agenda for this ministerial meeting was adopted, the address by H.E. Ms Isata MAHOI, Minister of Gender and Children of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in charge of Gender, reiterated the need for a collective commitment to inclusive governance because the voices of women and young people are essential to the future of democracy in West Africa. It provides a platform for dismantling barriers to political participation and charting a new course in which women and young people are not only participants, but central actors in decision-making and leadership.

The Legacy Project is a structuring project that aims to consolidate the Community’s achievements over the past 50 years in terms of democratic governance, while laying the foundations for a regional framework that promotes equal opportunities for women and men in the political sphere.