The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development’s Reacting to Early Warning and Response Data (USAID-REWARD), is strengthening the synergy among the Focal Persons of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF).
In furtherance of this drive, a two-day workshop of the Internal Steering Committee (ISC) which ended in Abuja, Nigeria on the 22nd of August 2019, appraised the ECOWAS Response Planning Framework (ERPF) being developed with a view of positioning the ECPF for effective implementation of the 2018-2020 Plans of Action (PoA) by its Focal Points Directorates (FPD)s, among others.
A statement by the ECOWAS Commission on Friday in Abuja said that the participants drawn from the FPDs, the ECPF Secretariat and the facilitators from USAID-REWARD, validated the resource mobilisation strategy document for the implementation of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework plans of action.
They also reviewed inputs to the draft planning framework as well as the interventions by the Focal Points Directorates.
Apart from reviewing the implementation of the Plans of Action alongside prospects and challenges, a working group on the ECOWAS Response Planning Framework was established by the participants. There were also presentations overviewing the implementation of the ECPF PoA, including an elaboration of the resource mobilisation strategy.
It added that going forward, the participants recommended the bridging of conflict prevention information gaps between ECOWAS Institutions and Member States, leverage strategic networks, while turning the Early Warning products being developed into living documents.
They also sued for a desirable information mainstreaming system that allows for effective deployment of the strides of the ECPF components in achieving desired visibility during the implementation of the Plans of Action.
The facilitator of the Workshop Mrs. Maria Jessop, alongside officials of the ECPF Secretariat, were supported during the event by the co-Chairs from ECOWAS Mediation Division as well as the Directorate of External Relations, Messrs Ebenezer Asiodu and Koe Kla.
GIK/APA