The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has sought technical and financial support from German and Swiss partners to develop a new regional project addressing climate-induced human mobility in West Africa.
The request was made during strategic meetings on climate change, climate finance and migration held at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia, according to a statement published on the ECOWAS website.
The meetings, attended by the ECOWAS Permanent Representative to the African Union, Mr N’guessan Diamidia, and other stakeholders, began with a capacity-building workshop on loss and damage and access to climate finance.
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The workshop brought together experts from the African Union Commission and Regional Economic Communities to review available funding mechanisms and their eligibility criteria.
Participants also examined the implementation of three international mechanisms: the Warsaw International Mechanism, the Santiago Network and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
The meetings also featured consultations and validation of the draft African Union Continental Strategy on Migration and Climate Change, leading to the adoption of its final English version.
However, technical reservations were raised over the French version, requiring further consultations to harmonise the document.
On the sidelines of the meetings, the ECOWAS delegation held bilateral discussions with representatives of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
The discussions focused on programmes addressing climate-induced human mobility and support for implementing the ECOWAS Climate Strategy, adopted in 2022.
ECOWAS commended the partners for their continued support and requested technical and financial assistance to develop the proposed regional project and mobilise the necessary resources.
The German and Swiss partners welcomed the progress made and reaffirmed their readiness to support the initiatives, while encouraging greater involvement of African financial institutions in mobilising resources.
