A three-day workshop to strengthen Ghana’s Protection and Human Security Integrated Coordination Mechanism (ECOPHSICM) has opened in Accra, with a call for intensified education on interlinked risks affecting vulnerable populations.

Organised by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the workshop seeks to bolster cooperation between national and regional actors in addressing human security and protection challenges across West Africa.

Opening the session, the Director of the National Early Warning and Response Mechanism Coordinating Centre (NCCRM), Mr Emmanuel Sampson, described the initiative as a vital platform for promoting collective action towards peace and sustainable development.

He said the engagement would bridge conceptual and operational gaps between human and fiscal security, adding that challenges such as conflicts, climate change, cyber threats, terrorism, and economic shocks undermined both.

Representing the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Edison Agbenyega commended ECOWAS for its commitment to human security, noting Ghana’s progress since hosting a high-level ECOWAS mission in April 2023. He cited improvements in child rights protection, gender-based violence response, and justice sector reforms.

“This workshop is a milestone in our collective journey,” he said, adding that “It allows us to assess progress, identify gaps, and chart strategies that move us from aspiration to achievement.”

Speaking on behalf of the ECOWAS Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs, Dr Sintiki Tarfa, Mr Agbenyega said the ECO-PHSICM, established in 2021, had been implemented in seven member states including The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana.

He noted that ECOWAS had allocated $25,000 in its 2026 budget to support Ghana’s continued implementation of the mechanism.

A representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms Melodie Azinim, emphasised the need to prioritise human security amid increasing climate and economic pressures, while the Head of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana, Mr Alexander Mar Kekula, urged sustained investment in family and community resilience.