More than one hundred participants from ECOWAS member states, civil society organisations and regional institutions met online on 12 October 2026 to shape a common regional position on the care economy, climate action and the green economy, the ECOWAS Commission has said.
The consultation was organised by the Commission through its Gender Development Centre, in partnership with UN Women, and chaired by Senegal, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
It forms part of preparations for the 71st session of the Commission on the Status of Women, launched under the auspices of the African Union.
CSW71 is scheduled for March 2027 in New York and will focus on accelerating progress towards gender equality by 2030.
The consultation sought to align ECOWAS member states around two issues: investing in care systems and advancing women’s participation in the transition to a green economy, with a view to informing the African Common Position.
Opening the meeting on behalf of Senegal’s Minister of Family, Social Action and Solidarity, Adama Baye Racine Ndiaye, Secretary-General of the Ministry, identified five priority areas: investment in care systems; climate action and the green transition; decent work opportunities for women in the green economy; strengthened data and accountability mechanisms; and enhanced regional leadership.
He stressed the need to translate commitments to gender equality into concrete public policy priorities.
Sandra Oulaté Fattoh, Director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, said achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires greater attention to both the care economy and climate action, describing the two as closely interconnected. “Climate resilience begins with care,” she said.
Maxime Houinato, UN Women Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said the consultation demonstrated what can be achieved when partners work together around a shared vision.
He called on the region to speak with “a coherent, forward-looking voice” that reflects both its challenges and its solutions.
Discussions centred on two regional initiatives presented and championed by ECOWAS. The first, on the care economy, is based on a mapping of care systems across the region carried out with UN Women’s support.
According to the source material, the study highlights the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work borne by women and the potential of investments in care to generate jobs, promote gender equality and foster inclusive growth.
It identifies seven regional priorities, including governance, data production, national policy frameworks, professionalisation of care occupations, and financing. Cabo Verde’s national care plan, in place since 2017, was highlighted as a promising example.
The second initiative focuses on gender-responsive climate action and the green economy.
Developed by ECOWAS specialised agencies with technical support from UN Women, the regional programme aims to strengthen women’s participation and leadership in the green transition, particularly through access to green jobs, climate finance and entrepreneurship opportunities in agriculture, renewable energy, water management and the circular economy.
The interactive dialogue allowed member states and civil society organisations to enrich the regional priorities under discussion.
Participants emphasised recognising women as agents of solutions, better reflecting the realities of rural women, and increasing investments in education, including positive masculinity, early childhood development and the transformation of social norms.
They also stressed the need to ensure the green transition becomes a genuine source of economic opportunities for women.
At the close of the consultation, Senegal presented the joint declaration adopted by participants.
ECOWAS’s contribution is to be consolidated by the end of the week and presented at the African Union meeting on 28–29 October in Addis Ababa, where it will help shape the African Common Position ahead of CSW71.
The position will subsequently be submitted for adoption by ministers responsible for gender equality on the margins of the Commission’s session in New York in March 2027.
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