She highlighted that these challenges are characterised by the marginalisation of women and a lack of sufficient opportunities for them to actively participate in development processes and share in the benefits.

She attributed these persistent inequalities to socio-cultural, economic, and political injustices that have historically subordinated women to men, leading to their systematic exclusion from development and denying them their rights to self-determination and dignified lives.

Mrs. Fattoh made these remarks at the launch of a regional training workshop and the ECOWAS Gender Observatory (ECOGO) in Accra on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

She emphasised that enhancing gender equality and women's empowerment requires strong monitoring, evaluation, and reporting mechanisms, alongside robust data collection, analysis, and database systems.

Background

Since its establishment in 2003 as a specialized agency of ECOWAS, the Gender Development Centre (EGDC) has implemented numerous initiatives to fulfill its mandate of building capacity through knowledge-based training, skill transfer, and program development and management.

The goal is to address gender equality in ECOWAS integration programmes and realise the vision of a just and secure society in West Africa, where men and women have equal opportunities to participate in and benefit from development initiatives.

The ECOWAS Gender Observatory aims to equip ECOWAS with a regional web-based knowledge management tool for monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on gender programs and activities.

It will also serve as a statistical database on gender equality and women's empowerment in the ECOWAS region.

ECOGO will cover all ECOWAS Member States and include a module for automatically migrating data to the African Union's Gender Observatory under the supervision of the ECOWAS Commission.

This initiative will enable systematic, real-time monitoring and reporting of EGDC programs across Member States.

Solutions

Mrs. Fattoh stressed that effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are crucial for enhancing transparency, accountability, and decision-making, which are vital for promoting gender equality and women's empowerment.

For her, a robust database system will provide essential gender statistics for informed decision-making and policy formulation related to gender equality and sustainable development.

She explained that since 2021, the EDGC has partnered with the UNDP Regional Service Centre Africa to develop a framework that enhances ECOWAS's capacity to systematically report on gender indicators.

This partnership, Mrs Fattoh noted, has led to the establishment of the ECOWAS Gender Observatory (ECOGO), a regional digital platform for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on gender equality and women's empowerment commitments in real time.

The platform will also support data collection, analysis, and storage, providing statistical insights into the state of gender equality in the ECOWAS region.

Regarding the training workshop, Mrs. Fattoh noted that it is part of ECOWAS's efforts to build regional capacity for effectively operationalising the ECOWAS Gender Observatory.

The workshop aims to equip Focal Points of the ECOWAS Gender Centre and civil society stakeholders from Member States with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage and utilize the ECOWAS Gender Observatory effectively.

Launching the initiative, the Director at the Department of Gender, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Madam Faustina Acheampong, commended ECOWAS on its efforts to promote gender equality in the sub-region.

She said Ghana was committed to the initiative, highlighting the country's recent passage of the Affirmative Action Bill, pointing out that President Akufo-Addo also believes in gender equality.

The programme attracted many distinguished experts on the subject from many development-partner organisations, including Mrs Cleopatra Phiri-Hurungo, Team Leader of UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa; Mrs Rougulatou Diallo, Chief of Party SRPS, USAID; and Mrs Lindiwe Nuwenya Mugabe, a Gender Specialist.