EGDC GATHERS ITS GENDER FOCAL POINTS TO ASSESS ITS LAST FOUR-YEAR TERM AND DEFINE NEW STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS

The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) is organizing its annual information and sharing meeting with its Focal Points in Member States from July 28 to 31, 2026, in Accra, Republic of Ghana. The objective of this meeting is to present the achievements of its last four-year term (2022 to 2026) and to outline the strategic priorities for the next four (4) years. This meeting is coupled with a workshop to finalize the operationalization of the ECOWAS Gender Observatory (ECOGO), which is a decisive instrument in the EGDC’s efforts to produce, interpret, and disseminate gender analyses to better guide decision-making on issues related to women and young girls in Member States.

Under the leadership of the Honorable Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission, this annual meeting was institutionalized with the signing of the Saly Oath in 2023, which formalized the commitment of Gender Focal Points to promote the ECOWAS agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment. The various editions have thus made it possible to build on past achievements and strengthen the collaborative framework for results-based management. Today, the Focal Points have become strategic links for the EGDC in the Member States, playing an essential role as an interface between the Centre and the Member States, thereby facilitating the implementation and monitoring of activities.

This meeting is being held in the specific context of a change in Top Management within the ECOWAS Commission. The EGDC therefore intends to leverage this transition period to agree with its Focal Points, through a synergistic dynamic, on the future structural interventions to be implemented over the next 4 years to achieve the ECOWAS Gender agenda in Member States.

The opening ceremony of the meeting featured several speeches. In his welcome address, His Excellency Ambassador Lawan GANA, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, noted that the annual meeting of Gender Focal Points demonstrates once again the EGDC’s firm commitment to sustainably strengthening its intervention strategies to ensure better execution of its programs at the Member State level. “The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, through technical and financial assistance, provides unwavering support to our Member States,” he stated.

Ms. Valerie ARIKPO-ETTAH, Technical Advisor representing GIZ, noted: “Beyond the development of relevant and ambitious strategies, success over the next four years will largely depend on the ability of stakeholders to strengthen sustainable partnerships and promote shared

ownership of objectives and expected results, through exchange and dialogue platforms like the one bringing us together today.”

Ms. Sandra OULATÉ FATTOH, Director of the EGDC, delivering the speech on behalf of the Honorable Prof. Fatou SOW SARR, Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission, stated that the true meaning of today’s meeting is to stimulate reflection on the stakes and challenges of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in a rapidly changing regional and international context, in order to look ahead to the new directions and priorities of the EGDC for the next 4 years and to harmonize strategies. She concluded by declaring: “I thank everyone once again for our shared determination to join forces to collectively address the gender-sensitive constraints and challenges shaking the region.”

Ms. Sabia Aku KPEKATA, Deputy Director for Gender, representing the Honorable Minister Agnes Naa MOMO LARTEY in charge of Gender, Children and Social Protection of the Republic of Ghana, delivered the opening speech of the meeting. She highlighted that the agenda for the next five days is both ambitious and strategic. This meeting offers the opportunity not only to evaluate past achievements but also to define an ambitious vision for the future of gender equality and women’s empowerment in West Africa. “We are therefore proud to provide an environment conducive to this dialogue and capacity building,” concluded the Representative of the Honorable Minister.

This annual meeting of the EGDC Gender Focal Points, designed to be an open and constructive space for dialogue among the various participants, will also be punctuated by a workshop to finalize the operationalization of ECOGO. ECOGO is a digital platform established in 2024 by the EGDC to monitor, evaluate, and report on gender-related interventions in ECOWAS Member States. This revolutionary tool aggregates more than 1,300 indicators per country and, thanks to an artificial intelligence assistant, offers an accurate mapping of gender dynamics.

As a reminder, in 2025, the EGDC operationalized a digital ecosystem that integrates, in addition to ECOGO, another strategic tool for measurement, planning, and decision-making: ECOGEB. This digital ecosystem also includes other relevant digital tools (the Centre’s website, a virtual workspace, an Artificial Intelligence system, and a relevant security command center) that strengthen the visibility of the Centre’s actions and its collaboration with its various stakeholders working on gender issues in West Africa.