ECOWAS provides $770,143 for humanitarian support in Cape Verde

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) has provided the sum of $770,143 as humanitarian support for 560 vulnerable families in Cabo Verde.
The funding is for the implementation of the Family Empowerment

Project for Sustainable Development (PEFDS) in Cabo Verde.
The  President of the ECOWAS Commission, who was represented by the Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs of the Commission, Madam Sintiki TARFA-UBE disclosed this during a meeting with the Ministry of Family, Inclusion, and Social Development, in Praia , Cabo Verde.

Madam Sintiki TARFA -UBE said the fund for humanitarian support from ECOWAS Commission

would complement the ongoing efforts of the government of Cabo Verde in improving the livelihoods of the country’s most vulnerable population .

She reaffirmed  ECOWAS Commission’s commitment  to providing aids and humanitarian support to all ECOWAS member states.

“We are delighted that Cape Verde is one of the countries to benefit, with an allocation of  770,143 dollars to support vulnerable populations in the country,” she said.
The funding is for the implementation of the Family Empowerment Project for Sustainable Development (PEFDS) in Cape Verde.

The project would benefit 560 vulnerable families on
the island of Santiago. The beneficiaries include 200 women who would receive financial support for the creation of income-generating activities; 200 families with the distribution of food baskets, and 80 people who will receive support for building bathrooms and rehabilitating houses”. 

The project covers four municipalities on the island of Santiago: São Domingos, Ribeira Grande de Santiago, Tarrafal and Praia, areas that have been severely affected by floods.

Also speaking, the Secretary of State for Social Inclusion, Lídia Lima  noted that the fund for humanitarian support from the ECOWAS Commission would go a long way to complement the ongoing efforts of the government of Cabo Verde in improving the livelihoods and quality of life of the vulnerable communities in the country.

“We have been implementing the strategy to eradicate extreme poverty with Cape Verde’s own resources within the scope of the state budget, but also with the combined efforts of Cape Verde and its international partners and it is in this sense that the financial support from ECOWAS has complemented our actions within the scope of this strategy to eradicate extreme poverty,” Lima said.

An ECOWAS delegation, led by Madam Sintiki TARFA-UBE, had embarked on a humanitarian monitoring and evaluation mission in the Republic of Cabo Verde from 27th to 31^st January

2025 , to ascertain humanitarian response effectiveness, identify gaps, ensure accountability, and improve the delivery of assistance to the victims of the 2023 flood disaster and populations affected by food and nutrition challenges in the country.

During the Mission ,  the team met with government officials, implementing partners and the beneficiaries of projects implemented through ECOWAS support.

After an initial courtesy call to the ECOWAS Interim Resident Representative and Executive Director of the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) Mr. Jean Francis Simporé, the ECOWAS delegation met with the Ministry of Family, Inclusion, and Social Development.

The meeting provided ECOWAS officials with the opportunity to engage directly with the beneficiaries, assess the level projects’ implementation and identify gaps and areas for improvement.

Following the devastating flood disaster across the ECOWAS region in

2023 and grave food and nutrition insecurity, a comprehensive assessment was conducted across the region and all member states were allocated funds using collectively accepted criteria established during a regional workshop participated by all member states.

Hauwa M.