West African officials met in Abuja to assess implementation of the ECOWAS Child Policy, with the Commission’s humanitarian and social affairs directorate warning that poverty and disasters hold back children’s rights.
Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed, Acting Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs at the ECOWAS Commission, said in an opening address that poverty and natural or human-made disasters — including population displacement, the destruction of essential socio-economic infrastructure, flood-induced epidemics, food insecurity and malnutrition — hinder the realisation of children’s rights in West Africa.
The remarks were delivered on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at the opening of the regional evaluation and strategic planning meeting with member state directors in charge of children’s rights.
Mohammed was represented by Ms. Bassasso Essossinam Ali Tiloh, Program Officer for Children’s Rights, Child Protection and Child Labour at the directorate.
She said millions of children in Africa are still deprived of their rights to education, health, protection and participation, a situation she linked to poverty, gender, ethnicity, nationality, lack of documentation and geographical origin.
Ali Tiloh pointed to the ECOWAS Child Policy and its Strategic Action Plan (2019–2030), adopted on June 29, 2019, in Abuja by West African leaders to reiterate their commitment to eradicating all forms of violence against children within the community space.
“The overall goal of the 2019–2030 Child Policy and Action Plan is to assist ECOWAS Member States in creating an enabling environment for the Survival, Development, Protection, and Participation of children across the entire region,” said Ms. Ali Tiloh.
She said the policy addresses the challenges affecting West African children in achieving their rights to survival, development, protection and participation, among them environmental hazards, poverty, crises, conflicts, children in emergency situations, gender inequalities, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, children with reduced mobility, and forcibly displaced children including refugee children and asylum seekers.
Ali Tiloh recalled other initiatives, regional legal texts and action plans designed to promote and protect the rights and well-being of West African children, including the ECOWAS Child Rights Information Management System, which she said would be discussed during the meeting.
She renewed the ECOWAS Commission’s commitment to working with stakeholders to accelerate implementation of relevant texts, policies and programmes aimed at protecting West African children from abuse and reducing their vulnerabilities.
Ms. Mariam Fitumi Shaibu, Deputy Director in charge of Child Development at Nigeria’s Ministry of Women Affairs, spoke on behalf of Senegal, the country currently holding the rotating Chairmanship of ECOWAS.
She said the true value of the ECOWAS Child Policy is measured by how commitments are translated into concrete actions, effective programmes, strong institutions and tangible improvements in children’s lives across the community space.
Investing in children today means investing in West Africa’s human capital, resilience and future stability, Shaibu said, reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to working with other member states and the ECOWAS Commission to advance the protection and promotion of children’s rights in the region.
“Periodic reviews of its implementation thus provide us with the opportunity to take stock of progress made by Member States, identify gaps and emerging challenges, share best practices, and strengthen collaboration and accountability regarding regional and national commitments,” she stressed.
Aimé Bada, representing the Regional Child Protection Group (GRPE) virtually, urged participants to examine what implementation of the ECOWAS Child Policy has achieved so far, what remains insufficient, and what needs to be reinforced in the coming years.
For the GRPE, Bada said, the evaluation is an opportunity to reinforce a key principle of the policy: child participation.
“Children should not only be viewed as beneficiaries of our policies and programs.
They must be empowered to express their experiences, concerns, and proposals, to be heard, and to have their contributions taken into account in decisions that affect them,” advised Aimé Bada.
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