Dakar – Senegal, September 27^th, 2022. Stakeholders including ECOWAS Resident Representatives, Heads of ECOWAS National Bureaus, Directors of National Early Warning and Response Centers, ECOWAS Directors, the African Union, UNOWAS, Civil Society Organizations, Regional Experts as well as Partners, converged in Dakar, Senegal on Tuesday, 27^th September, 2022 for a three (3) day retreat to validate the 2022-2026 ECOWAS Early Warning Strategic Plan.

The ECOWAS Vice President, Madam Damtien L. TCHINTCHIBIDJA, in her opening remarks, reiterated that the 2022-2026 Early Warning Strategic Plan is being developed in the context of  the socio-economic, political and security challenges facing the region which necessitate  a more proactive approach in the quest for regional peace and stability.  She highlighted the complex Human Security challenges facing the ECOWAS region, particularly in the Sahel and their corollaries on personal security, livelihoods and access to education, among others. She further stated that the development and implementation of the context-specific strategic plan will ensure that the Early Warning System is focused in its approach in meeting the needs of the ECOWAS Community in the coming years.

Madame Aïssata Tall Sall, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Senegal, represented by the Chief of Staff, Mr. Antoine Diouf, in her welcome address expressed the commitment of the government to strengthening the capacity of Early Warning and Response Systems to mitigate the various, complex and interconnecting challenges in the region.

Goodwill messages were also delivered at the opening ceremony by the Director General of GIABA Mr. Edwin W. HARRIS, by the Chairperson of the ECOWAS AFC, Madame Cristina Silva Pedreira, by the Representative of the European Union Delegation in Senegal, Mr Amaury Hoste, and by the Chairperson of the Committee of Permanent Representative accredited to Nigeria and to ECOWAS, H.E Ambassador Joao Ribeiro Butiam Co.

The retreat commenced by highlighting the lessons learned in the implementation of the last strategic plan of the Directorate and explored ways to apply these lessons to the draft 2022-2026 plan. The retreat further reviewed the key components of the Plan including the Theory of Change, Strategic Objectives as well as the Critical success factors. The exercise was concluded by the unanimous validation of the Strategic Plan.

The ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) project, co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supported the ECOWAS Commission in the development and validation of the Strategic Plan of the Early Warning Directorate. The EPSAO project is implemented through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).