"Why Can't We Promote Our Own?" -- ECOWAS Official Asks
- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has raised concerns over inadequate public recognition of its support to a US$725,000-plus humanitarian project being implemented in Liberia, urging government agencies and implementing partners to improve the visibility of ECOWAS-funded interventions.
Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed, Head of an ECOWAS Humanitarian and Social Affairs Monitoring and Verification delegation and Acting Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs at the ECOWAS Commission, raised the concern following an assessment of project sites in Liberia.
Speaking to journalists after a closed-door briefing with officials of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and the Liberia National Red Cross Society at the ECOWAS Commission Office in Congo Town, Mohammed said the delegation observed inadequate signage and branding identifying ECOWAS as a funder of the project.
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The project, "Strengthening Resilience and Supporting Disaster-Affected Populations in Liberia," is being implemented with support from ECOWAS to provide assistance to vulnerable and disaster-affected communities.
"During our monitoring and verification tour of the project sites, we noticed the lack of visibility," Mohammed said. "There is not enough or clear inscription to show the intervention or support of ECOWAS."
He said the issue was one of the key concerns identified during the monitoring exercise, but noted that implementing partners had agreed to address it.
"I think the visibility was not as we expected," he said. "The partners, including the Government of Liberia through the National Disaster Management Agency, have agreed that they are going to improve on this."
Mohammed explained that some project sites lacked adequate inscriptions, logos and signboards identifying ECOWAS and the Liberian government institutions involved in implementing the interventions.
He contrasted the situation with projects supported by other international partners, including the European Union, where large signs and other branding often clearly identify the organizations financing the projects.
"So why can't we promote our own?" Mohammed asked. "Why can't we promote the government to let the people know that the government is doing something?"
He said greater visibility would help Liberians understand how ECOWAS resources are being used to address humanitarian and development needs in their communities.
"Why can't we let the people know that this is from ECOWAS?" he continued. "These are the areas that we need to improve."
According to Mohammed, strengthening public awareness of ECOWAS-supported interventions is particularly important as the regional organization seeks to move from what he described as an "ECOWAS of states" toward an "ECOWAS of the people."
He said citizens should be able to recognize both ECOWAS and their national government's contributions to addressing vulnerabilities and supporting disaster-affected populations.
Despite the visibility concerns, Mohammed said the delegation was generally satisfied with implementation of the project and expressed confidence that the shortcomings would be corrected.
Responding to the ECOWAS delegation's concerns, NDMA Executive Director Atty. Ansu V. S. Dulleh Sr. apologized for the inadequate project visibility and assured the delegation that corrective measures would be taken.
"ECOWAS has been a very good partner to Liberia in disaster management and response," Dulleh said. "However, we apologize for the oversight regarding visibility. This was never intentional."
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He attributed the situation to an oversight and pledged that the agency would improve recognition of ECOWAS support at project sites.
"We regret this, and we will improve on this," Dulleh said, while thanking ECOWAS for its assistance and appealing for additional support.
ECOWAS launched the "Strengthening Resilience and Supporting Disaster-Affected Populations in Liberia" project with funding of more than US$725,000.
The intervention includes mobile money cash transfers and other essential community assistance targeting vulnerable and disaster-affected populations in Montserrado, Lofa, Bong, and Grand Cape Mount counties.
The monitoring and verification exercise is intended to assess implementation of the interventions and determine whether ECOWAS-funded assistance is reaching its intended beneficiaries.
