Dakar - Senegal — Review cooperation between ECOWAS and its humanitarian partners on the one hand, and on the other, deliberate on areas of assistance that will facilitate joint action on impending risks and other challenges affecting the social development of the people in the ECOWAS region. These are the main objectives of the ECOWAS consultative meeting with its humanitarian and social partners which was declared open this morning in Dakar, Senegal.
The Department of Human Development and Gender of the ECOWAS Commission will also be expected to present its humanitarian and social programmes to its major partners and assemble their contributions and suggestions for improved and better programmes and impacts. To this end, various papers on the activities and programmes of the Directorate of Humanitarian and Social Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission will be presented to participants. This two-day meeting is expected to lead to the institution of a consultative framework for the implementation of humanitarian and social programmes in collaboration with partners. It will also result in the formulation of a road map for the implementation of ECOWAS humanitarian and social programmes.
As indicated by the Commissioner for Human Development and Gender of the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS operational strategy on humanitarian assistance employed over the last years in crisis and non-crisis situation in the region, revealed that ad-hoc measures have always been taken which have serious inadequacies. This is the reason why, Dr Adrienne Diop declared that, «it is necessary to establish a coherent cooperation with our partners in order to formulate appropriate strategies and standard operational system for the promotion of effective humanitarian activities and meeting the needs of the people and the States».
Corroborating the same view, the Regional Representative of the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (UNO-OCHA) reiterated that faced with the nutritional and food crisis which is repeatedly affecting our sub-region given the resurgence of natural disasters, concerted efforts must henceforth be made. Mr Hervé Ludovic Delys went on further by emphasising that «We are passionately calling for an inclusive and objective dialogue between the development partners and the humanitarian community to identify the most appropriate synergy between development aid and humanitarian aid ». In his opening speech, the Secretary General in the Ministry of Interior of Senegal affirmed his conviction that at the end of deliberations, appropriate proposals will be made in order to alleviate the sufferings of disaster victims.
According to Mr Cheikhou Cissé, increased intensity and frequency of disasters caused by natural risks must propel ECOWAS Member States to present a common front in their efforts and harmonise their convergences in order to reduce their impact on the economies and vulnerable people of the region. He seized the opportunity to thank the ECOWAS Commission and States in the region for their assistance to Senegal during the last spate of flooding experienced in the country.
