Women & Youths Empowerment

Women & Youths Empowerment: Highlighting gender equality initiatives, women in leadership, and the socio-economic advancement of women across the region.

ECOWAS Gender Centre joins African ministers in Addis Ababa to set CSW71 priorities

By Harouna MayakiNovember 3, 2026

The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre joined African ministers and officials in Addis Ababa for the 11th ordinary session of the AU's gender equality committee, which set continental priorities on care work, climate action and disaster risk reduction ahead of CSW71 in New York. The centre's Director addressed the High-Level Ministerial Meeting on behalf of all Regional Economic Communities.

Women & Youths Empowerment

ECOWAS Opens Second COYWA Training Cohort in Accra for Young, Women Entrepreneurs

By Harouna MayakiOctober 30, 2026

ECOWAS and partners AUDA-NEPAD and AECID held the second regional COYWA training session in Accra from 26 to 30 October 2026, following an online phase that began on 23 September. The programme trains young and women entrepreneurs in digital tools, online security, artificial intelligence and financial education, with certificates awarded at a ceremony attended by youth ministers from Sierra Leone and The Gambia.

Ghana

Women & Youths Empowerment

ECOWAS Ministers Back Youth, Peace and Security Action Plan, Basket Fund

By Harouna MayakiOctober 30, 2026

Ministers from ECOWAS member states meeting in Accra resolved to develop a costed Regional Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security and to create a regional basket fund for predictable financing. The two-day consultation reviewed progress on UN Security Council Resolution 2250 and the African Union framework, with officials calling for stronger coordination and youth representation.

Ghana

Women & Youths Empowerment

ECOWAS Ends Women, Peace and Security Reporting Push in Cabo Verde

By Harouna MayakiOctober 29, 2026

ECOWAS has completed its planned series of in-country workshops on monitoring the Women, Peace and Security agenda, finishing with a session in Cabo Verde for more than 30 government, security, civil society and media participants. Cabo Verde's minister said the training came as the country works towards its first National Action Plan under UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

Cape Verde

Women & Youths Empowerment

Ghana and South Africa’s Green Energy Plans Often Overlook Women, Study Finds

By Gideon NdubuisiOctober 28, 2026

A new study of 14 green-energy policies in Ghana and South Africa finds that women are concentrated in lower-paid, non-technical roles while men hold most engineering and leadership positions. The authors propose a framework to help governments check whether energy policies expand women's economic opportunities before programmes are approved.

Ghana

Women & Youths Empowerment

Four Senegalese Translation Students Begin Internship at ECOWAS Commission Under PAMCIT Programme

By Harouna MayakiOctober 24, 2026

Four translation students from Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis in Senegal are interning at the ECOWAS Commission's Translation Section under the PAMCIT programme, which the Commission currently chairs. They are among six students awarded study scholarships by the Commission, and they paid a courtesy visit to Director of Conference and Protocol Olukemi Robinson-Atabuh.

Senegal

Women & Youths Empowerment

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

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff LimitedOctober 23, 2026

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.

Senegal

Women & Youths Empowerment

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

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff LimitedOctober 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.

Senegal

Women & Youths Empowerment

ECOWAS, Ivorian Ministry Train Officers on Gender-Based Violence in Abidjan

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff LimitedSeptember 24, 2026

The ECOWAS Center for Gender Development, Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Women, Family, and Children, and the Akwaba Mousso Association held a two-day capacity building workshop in Abidjan on September 16–17, 2026, for Judicial Police Officers, GBV focal points in the justice sector, and other frontline actors. The workshop aimed to strengthen practical skills in preventing gender-based violence, identifying victims, and providing holistic care to survivors. Speakers including ECOWAS representative Ms. Fathmah Mahan and CCDG Director Ms. Sandra Oulaté Fattoh called for a coordinated, multisectoral response and a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women and girls.

Côte d'Ivoire

Women & Youths Empowerment

Women peacebuilders gather in Bamako to push for stronger role in conflict resolution

By Kabir IsaAugust 31, 2026

Women's organizations, mediators, and officials from seven countries gathered in Bamako to address women's underrepresentation in peace processes. The meeting highlighted priorities including participation, protection, funding, and monitoring mechanisms, against a backdrop of widespread displacement in West and Central Africa.

Benin Burkina Faso Côte d'Ivoire