ECOWAS Business News

Pan African University Institute for Water and Energy Sciences celebrates African graduates Sierra Leone Telegraph: 3 October 2018: The Pan African University Institute for Water and Energy Sciences including Climate Change (PAUWES) celebrated the third graduating class of both the engineering and policy tracks of its Masters programmes in Water and Energy . The graduating class made up of 79 students from across the African continent, received their diplomas during a ceremony at the University of Tlemcen. The graduating students and their guests were addressed by official representatives and dignitaries from the Algerian government from across Africa and Europe, including Prof. Sarah Anyang Agbor, the African Union Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST), Mr. Ali Benyaiche, the Governor of the Wilaya of Tlemcen, and Her Excellency Ulrike Knotz, the German Ambassador to Algeria. This year's graduating students are about to constitute the next generation of...

NAIROBI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The African Union is seeking support for the entry of low cost air carriers in order to spur intra-Africa travel, officials said on Tuesday. Amani Abou Zeid, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism, told journalists in Nairobi that the cost of air travel within the continent remains high partly due to lack of a liberalized air transport sector. " We are therefore proposing a Continental Tourism Strategy that seeks to promote liberalization of air sector in Africa . One of the consequences of the open air skies in Africa is that it will allow dynamic, private and agile low cost carriers to operate in Africa with a view to promote intra-Africa travel," Zeid said during the First Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Tourism of the Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental and Inter regional Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism. Zeid said the Continental Tourism Strategy should be signed by the African Heads of S...

African Union Commission, Addis Ababa, 1-2 October 2018 – In close collaboration with the African Union Commission Department of Political Affairs, African Governance Architecture, OECD, UNECA, UNDP and UNDESA; the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) hosted a  two-day Africa Technical consultation workshop to initiate a programme of support to AU Member States that will be reporting on progress towards achieving SDGs to the 2019  High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) for Sustainable Development. The workshop focused on UN Agenda 2030 Goal 16 and AU Agenda Aspiration 3. In addition to the above organizations the following countries were represented: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa. Established in 2012, the HLPF on Sustainable Development plays a critical role in the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. The follow-up and ...

AFCFTA is an Agenda 2063 flagship project, whose implementation is seen as key in accelerating Africa's growth. The main objectives of the AfCFTA are to create a continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments , and thus pave the way for accelerating the realization of the African Economic Community as envisaged under the Abuja Treaty. The AfCFTA Agreement was launched by AU Heads of State and Government during their Extraordinary Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. The Agreement has now been signed by 49 of AU Member States and ratified by 7 of them. The Agreement is expected to enter into force in 2019. Source: African Union Commission

In a nutshell, media reports have a huge impact in building public opinion and influence policy-making processes. The media has been traditionally used as a channel to disseminate messages portraying substance use through a distorted lens. In order to project a more holistic picture of the topic, there is need for a stronger collaboration between relevant stakeholders and media organisations at the local and regional levels. Ideally, messages from mass media campaigns should be guided by a common strategy involving work being done by other stakeholders in the sector. The reports on tramadol and codeine abuse could have yielded more meaningful and significant impact if they had involved the participation of civil society organisations, health experts, key government agencies and the people most directly impacted: people who use drugs. It is imperative that civil society and community organisations working on drug-related issues are able to engage with the media to ensure informed report...

Invitation to a Webinar on the Factors Driving West African Migration Thursday 27 September 2018, 15:00-15:45 (UTC+2) ‌The influx of thousands of migrants arriving on European borders in recent years has amounted to a serious humanitarian situation, and placed pressure on EU governments to urgently identify workable solutions. Migration from West Africa makes up a large share of the total number of migrants landing on Europe's shores. This number has increased sharply in recent years due to a combination of political crisis, economic hardship and the impact of protracted internal conflicts in countries such as Mali and Niger. Understanding the characteristics and motivations behind migration through the Central Mediterranean route is highly relevant for European governments, who have invested significantly in security measures and development assistance to prevent further migration in recent years. In addition, migration to Europe has significant implications for development assi...

ECOWAS Commission has advertised 5(five) positions this week in Ghana's Ghanaian Times Paper: Public Account Specialist in Charge of the Harmonization of the Legal Framework of Public Finance (strengthening the Multilateral Surveillance Directorate of ECOWAS -- Law/Economics ) Public Account Specialist in Charge of the Harmonization Adoption & Implementation of the Public Accounting Framework (strengthening the Multilateral Surveillance Directorate of ECOWAS -- Law/Economics ) Project Preparation Specialist to provide Techincal Assistance in the Preparation of Priority Projects (Strengthening Community Development Programme Unit of ECOWAS -- Management of Projects; Economics; Engineering; Financial Management; Business ) Project Promotion Specialist to promote ECOWAS priority Projects (Strengthening Community Development Programme Unit of ECOWAS -- Business, Economics; Public Relation & Marketing ) Public Finance Specialist in charge of the Harmonization of the Public ...