Dr. Afisa Zakariah (4th left) with the gender experts, CSOs representatives and ECDC officials
Gender experts and civil society organisations (CSOs) working on gender and development have begun a validation meeting in Accra to discuss, review and finalise the draft ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
The EGDC Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027 is under the theme: “Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls: An Imperative for the Achievement of Sustainable Development and Effective Regional Integration in West Africa”.
This sets the tone for the contributions that the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre seeks to make to the regional integration process in the medium to long terms.
The goal of the Strategic Plan is to build on the progress and achievements that have been made over the years and to contribute to sustainable development and economic and social justice in the ECOWAS region, through the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
This strategic plan was developed with the view to reposition the EGDC as a centre of excellence with the capacity to contribute to the transformation of West Africa into a just and secure community in which men and women have equal opportunities to participate, decide, control and benefit from all development initiatives, within the framework of ECOWAS Vision 2050.
EGDC Director, Sandra Oulate, in her opening address said between 2003 and 2023, the EGDC worked on developing gender policies, culminating in the period 2015-2021 with the adoption of the Additional Act on Equal Rights between women and men for sustainable development in the ECOWAS region which has become a legal instrument of reference for our 15 Member States.
“This period was also marked by the adoption of policies, action plans and programs related to the strengthening of the institutional and organizational capacities of regional and national mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality, economic empowerment of women, and equitable access to basic social services,” she said.
She thus hoped that the meeting will see the finalization of the document which would add to the existing documents to strengthen gender mainstreaming in the region.
Dr. Afisah Zakariah, Chief Director, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, said the them for the meeting was apt, considering the need for ECOWAS Member States to collectively achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the sub-region.
“Gender inequality is a persistent issue that undermines the progress of societies and nations worldwide which is a major impediment to achieving effective regional integration and sustainable development,” she said.
Dr. Zakariah said achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls in West Africa, requires concerted efforts from governments, civil society organisations, the private sector, and development partners in order to build a more just and equitable society that benefits all and thus expressed optimism that the experts meeting will bring out more pragmatic strategies that will promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri