By Stella Odueme
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has commenced efforts to implement its Inter-Institutional Communication Strategy and Information and Communication Policy for 2026–2031, aimed at strengthening communication and regional integration across West Africa.
The initiative is being pursued in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) through a workshop that commenced on October 12, 2026, in Accra, Ghana.
The workshop has brought together communication officers from ECOWAS institutions and specialised agencies to promote effective collaboration, harmonise communication practices and develop actionable measures for implementing the new strategy and policy.
The framework is expected to enhance coordination among ECOWAS institutions, improve public engagement and advance the organisation’s regional integration agenda in line with its Vision 2050.
Speaking at the workshop, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, Ambassador Mohammed Lawan Gana, emphasised the need to translate discussions and engagements into concrete and measurable outcomes.
Gana noted that the effectiveness of the initiative should be determined by the practical results achieved rather than the number of meetings conducted.
“Our measure of success should not be the number of meetings we hold, but the concrete improvements we achieve. If we can answer these questions, we would have transformed this Working Group from a forum for discussion into a mechanism for coordinated regional action,” he stated.
The communication strategy and policy are expected to foster stronger cooperation among ECOWAS institutions, ensure consistency in public messaging and establish more effective channels for communicating with citizens across the region.
The initiative also supports the regional bloc’s broader vision of transitioning from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of Peoples, with increased emphasis on citizen participation, regional solidarity and collective development.
Through the implementation process, ECOWAS aims to strengthen institutional communication as a tool for promoting public understanding, deepening regional cooperation and bringing the organisation closer to the people it serves.