West African governments have been urged to raise budgetary allocations for child protection to 3 per cent, in line with the ECOWAS Policy on Children adopted on 29 June 2019.
The recommendation was among a set adopted by delegates at a regional review and strategic planning meeting on the implementation of the ECOWAS Policy on Children, which concluded on 25 September 2026 in Abuja, Nigeria.
In a report from the Economic Community of West African States, the participants directed several recommendations at three sets of actors: the ECOWAS Commission, development partners and Member States.
The Commission was called upon to continue its efforts in resource mobilisation, capacity building and regional coordination.
Development partners were urged to keep supporting the actions and capacity-building of Member States with a view to ensuring the long-term promotion of children’s rights in West Africa.
Member States were recommended to promote comprehensive and sustainable data collection and to appoint focal points responsible for children’s rights within their key ministries.
They were also encouraged to step up public awareness campaigns, in particular by strengthening community engagement, and to establish effective coordination and collaboration mechanisms among child protection stakeholders within ministries, departments and agencies at sub-national, national and regional levels.
A further decision taken at the meeting concerned measures by Member States to replicate the model of the Child Rights Information Management System, known as ECRIMS, at national and sub-national levels, with the aim of ensuring consistent approaches to data collection and reporting.
Member States were also urged to create more opportunities for children to participate in the process of developing and implementing child-related policies, so that their voices are heard within the regional community.
The recommendations further suggested that they continue to strengthen national child protection systems, paying particular attention to children with disabilities, and extend social protection benefits to vulnerable families and children with special needs.
At the close of the meeting, the Programme Officer for Children’s Rights, Child Protection and Child Labour at the ECOWAS Commission, Ms Bassasso Essossinam Ali Tiloh, welcomed the unanimous adoption of the recommendations and the final report by all the delegates.
She expressed her gratitude to the delegates for their contributions, recommendations and active participation in the proceedings.
The Deputy Director for Child Development at Nigeria’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Ms Mariam Fitumi Shaibu, speaking on behalf of Senegal, which currently holds the ECOWAS Chairmanship, thanked the delegates for their commitment to promoting the rights, protection and well-being of West African children.
In her view, the conclusions and recommendations arising from the meeting should serve as a practical roadmap for strengthening child protection systems and improving accountability regarding the rights of every child within the ECOWAS region.
“Let us ensure that no child is left behind and that every child in West Africa fully enjoys their rights to survival, development, protection and participation,” said Ms Mariam Fitumi Shaibu.
The three-day meeting was aimed at validating the summary reports on the implementation of the Child Policy submitted by Member States in 2024 and 2025, covering the 2023 and 2024 reports, with a view to implementing the recommendations and progressively extending ECRIMS to other areas of children’s rights.
According to the report, the meeting served as a framework for strengthening Member States’ capacity to define benchmarks for child rights programming and its integration into national development planning.
It also contributed to capacity-building regarding the ongoing process of establishing ECRIMS, which began in 2022, and in particular the online tool that has been developed.
The meeting further enabled participants to assess the progress of actions in each Member State and to define priorities in terms of policy and programming.
Expected outcomes listed in the report include an assessment of progress made in implementing the four pillars of the ECOWAS policy on children’s rights, improved knowledge and operational expertise regarding the implementation of the policy, including the definition of corresponding intervention strategies, and strengthened capacity of institutions responsible for children’s rights and of focal points in Member States regarding the effective use of the ECRIMS reporting tool.
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