On Thursday, June 5, 2026, under the leadership of Prof. Fatou SOW SARR, Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, and Dr. Kalilou SYLLA, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture of the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS Center for Gender Development (CCDG), in collaboration with other ECOWAS specialized agencies on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus with a gender perspective, and with the support of the Directorate of Environment and Natural Resources, organized an eco-citizen cleanup activity in Hann Bay in Dakar, Republic of Senegal, to celebrate the 51st anniversary of ECOWAS. The objective of this activity was to raise awareness and promote sustainable solutions to reduce plastic waste in key urban centers across the West African Community. The celebration of ECOWAS’s 51st anniversary is themed “Building Tomorrow’s ECOWAS Today.” It aims to highlight and celebrate ECOWAS’s achievements in regional integration and development over the past fifty years, as well as to outline plans for building the region’s future over the next 50 years.

This beach cleanup activity, which is part of the broader “ECOWAS Plastic-Free Campaign,” aims to support the implementation of the ECOWAS regulation on combating plastic pollution, recently adopted to promote behavioral change and stakeholder engagement in cities across the Community. It brought together staff from the CCDG, the National Integrated Waste Management Company (SONAGED), religious and community leaders, the village community of Hann, and young volunteers committed to environmental issues.

The representative of the Hann village community said he was particularly honored to lead this cleanup effort in Hann Bay alongside CCDG staff. He gave a comprehensive presentation on the causes and types of pollution, as well as their consequences, including the illegal migration of young people from the village. He also listed a series of initiatives implemented to maintain Hann Bay, which focus on beach cleanup efforts, information and awareness-raising among the various stakeholders affected by pollution (coastal communities, the private sector, the Senegalese government), advocacy, as well as waste recycling and recovery through carbon credits.

He noted that support from ECOWAS would be crucial for this initiative, which could be replicated on all of Senegal’s beaches to reverse the trend in the fight against marine pollution.

In her remarks, Ms. Sandra OULATÉ FATTOH, Director of the CCDG, emphasized that the region faces an invisible yet destructive threat. Plastic pollution seriously threatens marine

ecosystems, endangers public health, and degrades the environment in West Africa. Thus, the significance of this cleanup activity, which is being carried out today on the sidelines of ECOWAS Day, goes beyond mere sanitation. It is about providing communities with a healthy environment, a prerequisite for their economic and social empowerment. She concluded by reaffirming ECOWAS’s commitment to creating an environment conducive to promoting sustainable solutions for reducing plastic waste and to sustaining such actions, always in synergy and collaboration with SONAGED.

The SONAGED representative thanked the CCDG Director for organizing the event. He noted that the choice of Hann Bay for this initiative was no accident, as SONAGED has been working with the Hann community for several years and there is a genuine sense of momentum. In his view, marine pollution is a greater problem in other communities that are less organized. He emphasized that, with the Hann community, SONAGED is developing more integrated projects that address both waste collection points and waste collection itself. This further strengthens the community dynamic in Hann.

This activity has helped identify initiatives that, when scaled up, can have a significant and transformative impact in the fight against marine pollution in key coastal cities across West Africa.