By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
A three-day technical conference on Human Capital Development (HCD) being organised by the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Commission, is currently underway in Accra Ghana.
The three days conference which began today Wednesday, May 8 to 10, 2024 is on the theme; “Moving from Strategies to Implementation
The conference is being attended by Member State HCD focal points, technical staff of the ECOWAS Commission, and key stakeholders like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Tony Blair Institute, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the African Development Bank, and Africa Practice.
According to the organisers, the conference comes as the regional strategy transitions to enhancing visibility and implementation at regional and national levels.
In her welcome address during the open ceremony, the Vice President of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Commission, H.E (Mrs) Damtien L. Tchintchibidja admonished participants to work collectively to achieve the objectives of the HCD agenda.
“It is time for action. Collectively, we can transform our region by 2030 into a community full of hope for our citizens,” H.E. Tchintchibidja opined.
At the end of the three-day technical conference, progress towards developing and implementing the ECOWAS HCD strategy will be reviewed by all stakeholders.
The HCD strategy, approved in 2021, aims for ECOWAS to become sub-Saharan Africa’s top HCD performer by 2030, focusing on health, education, skills, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and the digital economy.
ECOWAS created an HCD index to monitor regional and national progress towards 2030 targets. The first report was in 2022, and the second will be released in June 2024.
Three Member States have national HCD strategies, six are developing them, and four others are working with ECOWAS on their strategies.
