SAHEL WOMEN’ EMPOWERMENT AND DIVIDEND DEMOGRAPHIC (SWEDD)

INTRODUCTION

The “Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD)” regional project is a regional initiative that aims to accelerate the demographic transition in order to create the conditions for a demographic dividend that promotes growth and the reduction of gender inequalities between men and women in the Sahel region.

Abuja, 7th May 2018. The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), a Swedish agency for peace, security and development have taken further steps to ensure gender equality in the region as well as increase the involvement of women in peace and security processes as stipulated by the United Nations (UN) resolution 1325.

Subject to further amendments as maybe necessary, participants at the consultative workshop which ended in Lagos, Nigeria on the 26th of April 2018, have adopted the draft 2018-2020 ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF) Plans of Action (PoA).

Proposals and recommendations for peaceful resolution of conflicts between farmers and herders in the Community will be submitted to the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at their next session in Lomé, Togo.

The President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, and the Regional Director “Sub-saharan Africa Department”, French Development Agency (AFD), Philippe Chedanne, signed a subsidy agreement for integration and security of livestock farming and pastoralism in West Africa. The event took place on 26 April 2018 in Abuja, Nigeria, in the presence of Denys Gauer, the French Ambassador to Nigeria.