The Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (WA-SRO/ECA), Dr Dimitri Sanga reaffirmed the ECA’s availability to work actively with West African journalists for the economic and social development of Africa.

In his statement at the opening of the meeting for the establishment of the network of journalists on economic, social and environmental issues for West Africa, on 28 September 2017, in Dakar, Senegal, he underscored the important role of information to the populations to ensure that Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are supported in the structural transformation of their economies.

He stated that by creating the network, the aim of the WA-SRO/ECA, is to promote the development of a responsible and dynamic partnership with the sub-regional media for better visibility and dissemination of its activities as well issues of development for the sub-region, for use in the economic and social development of the Member States.

Journalists, who are members of the network, are therefore expected to ensure the media coverage of ECA activities in West Africa, advocate and distribute the outcomes of studies and recommendations from ECA workshops in West Africa.

«The ECA produces many high quality knowledge products in the various sectors that affect the welfare of the African populations. Media specialists are therefore the transmission belt which ensures that this wealth of knowledge is easily identified and understood by the various segments of public policy beneficiaries in order to create their awareness on these issues and solicit the necessary acceptance by their leaders in the implementation of these policies», Dr Dimitri Sanga declared.

The creation of the network of journalists on economic, social and environmental development issues for West Africa is an initiative of the SRO-WA-ECA in collaboration with the Liptako Gourma Authority, the West African Economic and Social Monetary Union (UEMOA) and ECOWAS.

Making his presentation on the «Vision 2020» of the West African organization, ECOWAS Ag. Director of Communication, Liberor Doscof Aho, highlighted the importance of media practitioners in informing and creating an awareness among the populations on the objectives, achievements and ideals of ECOWAS.

Mr Aho commended the establishment of the network of journalists on the issues of economic, social and environmental development issues for West Africa. He also urged its members to support the SRO-WA/ECA in its goal of enlightening the West African people further, with the aim of supporting ECOWAS Member States in the structural transformation of their economies.

The Dakar workshop is aimed at building the capacity of members of the network on the priority activities of the ECA in West Africa by the media through a wide dissemination of ECA knowledge products, establishment of a dynamic partnership for the distribution of information between the SRO-WA/ECA and the said network.

The 30-member network of journalists on economic, social and environmental development issues for West Africa, is drawn from the 15 ECOWAS Member States.

For information, the West African sub-regional Office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (WA-SRO/ECA), based in Niamey, Niger, is one of such five (5) sub-regional offices in Africa, with purview of covering ECOWAS Member States.

The activities of WA-SRO/ECA is notably to strengthen sub-regional cooperation and integration in West Africa, priorities of the African Union, programmes of the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) and international development goals as indicated in the Millennium Declaration.