Agence de Presse Ouest-Africaine
Agence de Presse Ouest-Africaine
Research from the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab projects 451,000 additional heat deaths worldwide from this year's strong El Niño, with Nigeria expected to record the highest national toll at 31,400. Sudan, Niger and Chad are also among the worst-affected countries, as limited electricity access and poverty leave millions unable to protect themselves from extreme heat.
Water ministers from across West Africa adopted strategic resolutions on regional water governance at the 6th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee on IWRM in Abidjan, convened under ECOWAS, WAEMU and CILSS. The decisions cover revision of the West African Water Resources Policy, operationalisation of the African Water Vision 2063 and institutionalisation of the West Africa Regional Water Forum. The outcomes will inform the First West Africa Regional Water Forum, scheduled for 24–25 September 2026 in Abidjan.
ECOWAS officials met in Abuja with member state directors responsible for children's rights to assess progress on the bloc's Child Policy and its 2019–2030 Strategic Action Plan. Speakers pointed to poverty, conflict and displacement as obstacles to children's rights, and called for stronger accountability and child participation.
ECOWAS conducted a five-day training on physical security and stockpile management for Nigerian security personnel in Port Harcourt from 7 to 11 September 2026. The programme, held with the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies and Nigeria's national small arms centre, drew participants from twelve agencies and included a visit to the Nigerian Army's 29 Battalion armoury.
Nigerian rapper eLDee the Don has released I Wish You Well, a comic track about a woman who asks a near-stranger for a loan and then for travel and designer goods. The song arrives as billing, the expectation that a suitor should fund a woman's lifestyle, remains central to Nigerian debates about dating, money and gender.
Africa CDC has launched a Continental Immunisation Strategy for 2026–2030 after about 7.1 million African children under one received no routine vaccine dose in 2025. The strategy covers six areas, and its authors identify five priorities including domestic financing, digital systems and vaccine sovereignty.
Morocco's Berm, a 2,700-kilometre wall built across Western Sahara between 1980 and 1987, still divides the disputed territory and remains one of the world's most militarised borders. Researchers writing for The Conversation say the barrier's most overlooked damage is ecological, as mines and the embankment disrupt desert watercourses and grazing routes.
The ECOWAS Resident Representation in Senegal held a workshop in Pointe Sarène from September 15 to 19, 2026, reviewing its 2025-2026 activities and setting programming and budgeting for 2027-2029. Participants assessed physical and financial execution, identified constraints and agreed priorities, responsibilities and a monitoring system. The Representation now holds a consolidated framework for the three-year period.
Senegal has built and rehabilitated sports facilities in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly for the Youth Olympic Games, scheduled for 31 October to 13 November 2026. Two researchers argue the Games could reshape how the country finances, manages and maintains sports infrastructure once the competition ends.
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.
