Evaluating the Implementation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Child Policy by Member States of the Regional Organization

This was highlighted in the opening address delivered by Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed, Acting Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs at the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, in Abuja, Nigeria. The remarks were made during the opening of the regional evaluation and strategic planning meeting with Member State directors in charge of children’s rights on the implementation of the ECOWAS Child Policy.

According to Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed represented by Ms. Bassasso Essossinam Ali Tiloh, Program Officer for Children’s Rights, Child Protection, and Child Labor at the directorate millions of children in Africa are still deprived of their rights to education, health, protection, and participation. She noted that this situation is particularly linked to poverty, gender, ethnicity, nationality, lack of documentation, or geographical origin.

She emphasized the new ECOWAS Child Policy and its Strategic Action Plan (2019–2030), adopted on June 29, 2019, in the Nigerian federal capital by West African leaders to reiterate their commitment to eradicating all forms of violence against children within the community space.

“The overall goal of the 2019–2030 Child Policy and Action Plan is to assist ECOWAS Member States in creating an enabling environment for the Survival, Development, Protection, and Participation of children across the entire region,” said Ms. Ali Tiloh.

This Policy, she explained, addresses the numerous challenges affecting West African children in achieving their rights to survival, development, protection, and participation in West Africa.

Among these challenges are environmental hazards, poverty, crises, conflicts, children in emergency situations, gender inequalities, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, children with reduced mobility, and forcibly displaced children, such as refugee children and asylum seekers.

Ms. Ali Tiloh recalled the numerous other initiatives, as well as relevant regional legal texts and action plans designed to promote and protect the rights and well-being of West African children, including the ECOWAS Child Rights Information Management System, which will be discussed during this meeting.

She renewed the ECOWAS Commission’s commitment to collaborating diligently with various stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of relevant texts, policies, and programs aimed at protecting West African children from various forms of abuse, with a view to reducing their vulnerabilities.

For her part, Ms. Mariam Fitumi Shaibu, Deputy Director in charge of Child Development at Nigeria’s Ministry of Women Affairs, speaking on the occasion on behalf of Senegal—the country currently holding the rotating Chairmanship of ECOWAS—stated that the true value of the ECOWAS Child Policy is measured by how commitments are translated into concrete actions, effective programs, strong institutions, and tangible improvements in the lives of children across the community space.

Investing in children today means investing in West Africa’s human capital, resilience, and future stability, noted Ms. Mariam Fitumi Shaibu, reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to working with other Member States and the ECOWAS Commission to advance the protection and promotion of children’s rights across the West African region.

“Periodic reviews of its implementation thus provide us with the opportunity to take stock of progress made by Member States, identify gaps and emerging challenges, share best practices, and strengthen collaboration and accountability regarding regional and national commitments,” she stressed.

Echoing these sentiments, Aimé Bada, representing the Regional Child Protection Group (GRPE) virtually, urged participants to examine what the implementation of the ECOWAS Child Policy has achieved so far, what remains insufficient, and what needs to be reinforced for the coming years.

For the GRPE, this evaluation serves as an opportunity to reinforce a key principle of the Policy: child participation.

“Children should not only be viewed as beneficiaries of our policies and programs. They must be empowered to express their experiences, concerns, and proposals, to be heard, and to have their contributions taken into account in decisions that affect them,” advised Aimé Bada.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).