Social Impact & Development - West Africa News Agency

ECOWAS Gender Centre, Spanish Aid Agency Set New Priorities, Plan Second Phase

By Kabir Isa9 minutes ago

The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre and Spain's AECID met in Dakar on October 20, 2026, to review their Institutional Support and Obstetric Fistula projects and to discuss new collaboration on the care economy and climate action. The two sides agreed to pursue technical consultations on a second phase of the support project and discussed attending the 10th Global Conference on Obstetric Fistula in Dakar in December.

Social Impact & Development

K-Dramas Cast Africa as Backdrop for South Korea’s Own Image, Scholar Finds

By Kabir Isa17 hours ago

A film and media scholar examined three K-dramas and found Africa recurring as a place in need of charity, a site of savagery, and a punishment for troubled characters. Osarugue Otebele argues these portrayals function as a scale for measuring South Korea's own development rather than as depictions of the continent.

Social Impact & Development

ECOWAS Monitors Projects Across 17 Beninese Municipalities in Joint Field Mission

By Kabir IsaOctober 21, 2026

ECOWAS's Resident Representation in Benin and the ECOWAS National Office conducted a joint field monitoring mission from August 31 to September 5, 2026, visiting 20 sites across seven interventions in 17 municipalities. The mission reported gains in dairy production, youth skills and infrastructure, while flagging challenges around equipment, post-training support and the sustainability of results.

Women & Youths Empowerment

ECOWAS, UN Women Build Regional Position on Care Economy, Climate Action Before CSW71

By Kabir IsaOctober 15, 2026

ECOWAS and UN Women convened an online consultation on 12 October 2026 to build a common regional position on the care economy, climate action and the green economy. Senegal, which chairs the ECOWAS Authority, presented a joint declaration that will feed into an African Union meeting in Addis Ababa on 28–29 October ahead of CSW71 in New York.

Social Impact & Development

Mali Anti-Begging Strategy Asks: Who Are Street Children?

By Kabir IsaOctober 15, 2026

Mali began the operational phase of its national anti-begging strategy on 24 September 2026, with four pillars covering reintegration, parental responsibility, Quranic school supervision and religious teaching. Research by Drahmane Fondo, drawn from fieldwork in Bamako and villages in Ségou and Tombouctou between 2017 and 2025, finds that most street children are not abandoned and that the routes that put them there require different responses.

Social Impact & Development

African Researchers Make Case for Continent-Led Inequality Evidence as Global Panel Takes Shape

By Kabir IsaOctober 6, 2026

Brazil, Norway, South Africa and Spain, with Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, have called for support for a proposed International Panel on Inequality, modelled on the climate change panel. Writing in The Conversation, economists Murray Leibbrandt and Anda David argue the panel's value will depend on whether its assessments reflect African realities, and outline priorities from the launch of the African Inequality Review.

Social Impact & Development

Ecowas Court Becomes West Africa’s Human Rights Forum, But Enforcement Gaps Persist

By Kabir IsaOctober 1, 2026

Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom's recent book examines the Ecowas Court's record on women's rights, highlighting its accessibility and landmark decisions while identifying gaps in enforcement and compensation. She argues the court could be more transformative with a uniform monetary compensation framework and greater reliance on the Maputo Protocol.

Social Impact & Development

ECOWAS Meeting Calls for 3% Budget Allocation to Child Protection

By Kabir IsaSeptember 29, 2026

Delegates at a regional review meeting on the ECOWAS Policy on Children, held in Abuja and concluded on 25 September 2026, adopted recommendations urging Member States to raise child protection budget allocations to 3 per cent and to replicate the ECRIMS data system nationally. The recommendations also called on the ECOWAS Commission to continue resource mobilisation and coordination efforts, and on development partners to sustain support for Member States' capacity-building.

Social Impact & Development

Six Years After #EndSARS, Nigeria’s Youth Split Between Politics and Departure

By Kabir IsaSeptember 27, 2026

Six years after the October 2020 #EndSARS protests, the movement's legacy is splitting the generation that built it. Research links participation to increased political engagement, but also to trust deficits, psychological distress and, for some, the decision to leave Nigeria. Studies of the "Japa" phenomenon suggest migration is often framed as escape rather than economic calculation.

Social Impact & Development

ECOWAS Donates Supplies and 500,000 CFA to Ouidah Children’s Shelter in Benin

By Kabir IsaSeptember 25, 2026

ECOWAS Resident Representative in Benin, Ambassador Amadou Diongue, presented a donation to the 'House of Joy' Child Care and Protection Centre in Ouidah on September 21, 2026. The contribution included food, school supplies, vocational equipment, and 500,000 CFA for tuition fees. The ceremony was attended by local officials and the children at the centre.