Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and it’s partners have concluded arrangment to assess the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the rights and protection of the child.
ECOWAS Directorate of Humanitarian and Social Affairs held two virtual meetings with the Regional Child Protection Partners Working Group (RCPWG) on the 16th of November and Annual Consultation with Member States’ Directors of Child on the 17th of November 2020, with Member Organizations of the RCPWG in attendance.
The two meetings according to a statement issued by ECOWAS Headquarters, Abuja deliberated on ways of minimizing the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children in the ECOWAS region.
The two meetings agreed that COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a clear and present danger; with a long term impact on children as they are clearly most vulnerable to both primary and secondary effects of the pandemic.
Consequently, the meeting agreed that it was necessary for ECOWAS to determine the level of impact of the pandemic on children and re-strategize, to ensure the sustained realization of the goals of the ECOWAS Child Policy and related instruments.
” The ECOWAS Commission reiterated its commitment is ensuring that the rights of every child are upheld at every time. Both the Member States and Partners promised to improve on their performance to push for the prioritization of Child Rights in National Development Plans and to strengthen in country collaboration,” the statement reads.
Participants at the virtual meetings were from the ECOWAS Commission, Member States, and the RWGCP. Membership of the RWGCP includes: Save the Children, Enda, UNICEF, IOM, ILO, World Vision, ISS WA, UNODC, Terre de Somme, MAEJT, Amnesty International, Plan International, Educo, SOS, Handicap International, Child Fund WHO, UNHCR, UNFPA, UNDP and others.
