Experts of the ministries of Women Affairs of ECOWAS member states last Saturday held a meeting at the Paradise Suites Hotel, in Kololi.The purposed of the meeting of experts was to prepare the meeting of ministers of women affairs of ECOWAS member states, which is in turn aimed at examining, validating and adopting the strategic plan of the ECOWAS Gender Centre. The experts meeting was also expected to propose modalities for strengthening the mechanisms, of cooperation between centre and the ministers of women affairs.

In her remarks, madam Aminatta Dibba, acting director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), discloses that the ministerial and experts meeting constitutes part of the process initiated by the ECOWAS Gender Centre last year to articulate a more strategic approach in its effort to anticipate and adequately respond to the changing social, economic and political needs of women and men within the sub-region.

The EGDC strategic plan, she said, is a critical framework that is aimed at respositioning the gender centre of excellence capable of providing first hand information and technical expertise on areas that are relevant to gender, regional integration and development in the ECOWAS sub-region. She therefore added that the effective implementation of the strategic plan will necessitate strong collaboration between the gender centre and its stakeholders and partners at the national and regional levels, including government ministries, departments and agencies, civil society groups, the organized private sector, gender activists and development partners.

According to her, she has no doubt in her mind that they, as experts of the ministries of women affairs, have what it takes to assist the gender centre to lay the foundations for more concerted effort towards the elimination of gender disparities and inequalities in the ECOWAS region and for the transformation of their region into one in which all the citizens have equal rights and opportunities to participate in the development of the region and to benefit equitably from the gains of development, irrespective of their gender, and indeed their age, race, ethnicity, creed and belier.

In her opening remarks, Mrs Fatou Jasseh-Kuyateh, permanent secretary office of the Vice-President, disclosed that, in 2005, the ECOWAS gender policy was adopted as a point of reference for addressing the strategic interest and needs of men and women, and for accelerating the fulfillment of the equity and equality programmes of the community, to ensure the effective implementation of the policy in 2005, the ECOWAS gender development centre action plan 2005-2007 was formulated and implemented.

This action plan, she said, focused on four main areas and that is capacity building, awareness creation on the ECOWAS gender development  centre withing the member states as well as partnership building and networking amongst key stakeholders within the ECOWAS region and beyond.

According to her, the implementation of this plan registered tremendous achievements such as institutional strengthening, visibility of the ECOWAS gender development centre, as well as cooperation among national ministries responsible for gender and women's affairs.