Abuja - Nigeria — The ECOWAS Commission and the United Nations (UN) are jointly producing a television documentary that will project the contributions of women in regional cross-border trade.

The film seeks to document the challenges faced by women traders and entrepreneurs in the region with a view to raising awareness for advocacy to address the challenges.

It will also highlight economic losses due to ineffective implementation of the relevant ECOWAS Protocol and seek to influence policy-makers through appropriate recommendations on how to improve trade and gender issues in the region. The documentary will be shot on pilot locations along the Nigeria-Benin, Liberia-Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia-Sierra Leone borders.

Speaking at the project launch meeting at the Commission's Abuja headquarters on Tuesday 3rd April 2012, the Commissioner for Human Development and Gender, Dr. Adrienne Diop, said the project was desirable given the strategic role that women cross-border traders play in the region.

Dr. Sintiki Ugbe, the ECOWAS Director for Gender, Youth and Sports presided over the meeting, which was also attended by other ECOWAS Commission officials, including the Director of Trade, Dr. Gbenga Obideyi, as well as representatives of the UN and the Japanese Embassy in Nigeria, which is part- funding the project.

The ECOWAS Directorate of Gender will lead efforts on the project, in conjunction with the Trade, Private Sector, and Free Movement Directorates and the Communication Department.