The Economic Community of West African States: Strategizes Policies for the Inclusivity of People’s With Disabilities (PWDs) in West Africa

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone– In the maiden meeting of Ministers of the Member States of the ECOWAS; in care for people with disabilities – Yatma Fall – President of the West African Federation of People with Disabilities, throw light on the crucial challenges encountered by people with disabilities in the region.

He underscored the essence for inclusive public policies and greater government prioritization of disability issues.

Fall asserted felicitation to the ECOWAS Commission for its utmost concerns to the well-being of people with disabilities and explained willingness to aid the adoption and implementation of a regional action plan. Professor Fatou Sow Sarr – ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, applauded ECOWAS for being the primary commission of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities to develop a regional action plan on the integration of people with disabilities. She expressed the significance of regional investment in disability inclusion as both a human right and an economic necessity.

The meeting scheduled to endorse an action plan for the inclusion of people with disabilities in West Africa, noting the period 2022-2030. The plan concentrates on three main priority areas: Improving disability inclusion in the work of the ECOWAS Commission, enhancing the legal and policy environment for disability inclusion, and strengthening regional partnerships to mobilize resources for disability inclusion. Once endorsed, the action plan will guide ECOWAS Member States in designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating national programs for disability inclusion.

New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports, Africa Correspondent