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0 News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Roger A. Agana, https://newsghana.com.gh/ecowas-reinforces-early-warning-systems-in-gambia-liberia/
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expanded support for national early warning mechanisms in The Gambia and Liberia to address escalating human security threats, including child trafficking, gender-based violence, and displacement.
The move follows hybrid meetings held March 25–28, 2025, where officials reviewed progress on regional protection frameworks and the allocation of $25,000 grants to each country for risk mitigation.
Delegates from both nations, alongside ECOWAS representatives, assessed implementation of the bloc’s Protection and Human Security Integrated Coordination Mechanisms (ECOPHISM), focusing on operational roadmaps adopted in 2024. Key priorities included combating sexual violence, youth drug dependency, and conflict-related displacement under International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The Gambia reported completing equipment purchases and drafting a Protection Risk Index, while Liberia finalized plans to validate its national risk assessment.
“These centers are becoming regional models,” said Dr. Sintiki Tarfa Ugbe, ECOWAS Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs, via a representative. Gambian NCCRM Director Binta Singhateh emphasized collaboration to counter trafficking, citing a 17% rise in gender-based violence cases across West Africa in 2024. Liberian counterpart Arthur Bestman highlighted challenges in disability inclusion and border monitoring, exacerbated by instability in neighboring Ivory Coast.
ECOWAS Resident Representative to Liberia Josephine Nkrumah, represented by political adviser Dr. Nathaniel Walker, reaffirmed commitment to “effective leadership” in implementing response plans. The sessions concluded with pledges to strengthen cross-sector partnerships and prioritize early action against identified threats.
ECOWAS’s renewed focus on Gambia and Liberia underscores the bloc’s struggle to balance regional stability with member states’ uneven capacity to address human security crises. While the $25,000 grants mark incremental progress, they contrast sharply with the $2.3 million earmarked for regional early warning networks in 2023—a fund hampered by bureaucratic delays. Both nations, recovering from decades of authoritarian rule and civil conflict, face distinct hurdles: Liberia’s fragmented data-sharing systems and Gambia’s porous borders remain persistent vulnerabilities.
Analysts note ECOWAS’s strategy mirrors past efforts in Niger and Sierra Leone, where underfunded national mechanisms struggled without synchronized regional alerts. “Local systems are critical, but disjointed responses risk exacerbating trafficking and extremism,” said Dakar-based security consultant Mariam Diallo. The bloc’s credibility, already strained by recent coups in member states, now hinges on translating pledges into tangible protections for vulnerable populations. With West Africa’s migration and extremism crises intensifying, the success of these mechanisms could shape the region’s stability for years to come.
News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Roger A. Agana, https://newsghana.com.gh/ecowas-reinforces-early-warning-systems-in-gambia-liberia/
