Senior officials meeting to launch and steer experts’ discussions on selected humanitarian priorities in the ECOWAS region

A Senior Officials Meeting took place on 04 October 2023 in Abuja, jointly organized between the European Commission Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and the ECOWAS Department of Human Development and Social Affairs.

As part of the conclusions of the EU-ECOWAS ministerial meeting held in Brussels on 06 February 2023, the two institutions decided to engage in a dialogue to work jointly on key humanitarian areas:  i) enhance compliance with the International Humanitarian Law; (ii) address existing challenges to facilitate humanitarian access in conflict situations, including by strengthening the Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination; (iii) exchange on disaster risk management, to enhance the preparedness of the communities and disaster management systems, confronted with recurrent disasters and the adverse effects of climate change, (iv)  address the increasing gaps between humanitarian needs and resources, in particular with regards to the management of food and nutrition crisis and promote the humanitarian-development-peace Nexus approach, and (v) enhance the response to the emergency needs of the displaced population.

Associating key partners in this dialogue, the Senior Officials Meeting led to an exchange of views on the main priorities and possible joint actions, providing guidance for expert discussions in each of the five areas listed above. These expert discussions will start in October 2023 and will aim at proposing means and actions for a joint work plan to address priorities and challenges and to seize opportunities within the five key humanitarian areas agreed upon.

The participants at the hybrid meeting included the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, Madam Andrea Koulaimah, Leading the team of the EU, and the representatives of the ICRC, OCHA, SWAC/OECD, UNDRR, and UNHCR, Ambassador Jonas Hemou, ECOWAS Permanent Representative in Brussels, Dr. Sintiki Tarfa Ugbe, Directorate of Humanitarian and Social Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission, including other technical staff of the EU-ECHO and the ECOWAS Commission.