Mrs Damtien L. Tchintchibidja, Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, has expressed admiration for Ghana’s steadfast commitment to Human Capital Development (HCD) within the ECOWAS region.
Addressing the gathering at the 2024 ECOWAS Human Capital Development Technical Conference in Accra yesterday, MrsDamtien stated that, “Ghana’s commitment to the HCD Strategy is exemplary and we want to celebrate and applaud the country’s role in this transformative journey.
The conference brought together key stakeholders including representatives from the Ghanaian government, Human Capital Development focal points from ECOWAS Member States, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and various international organizations.
Vice President Damtien L. Tchintchibidja extended gratitude to the Government and people of Ghana for their warm hospitality and support in hosting the conference.
She particularly lauded President Nana Akuffo Addo’s leadership in steering ECOWAS towards adopting its Integrated Human Capital Development Strategy in 2021, emphasising Ghana’s exemplary role in advancing this transformative agenda.
“The HCD technical conference serves as a crucial platform to assess progress and tailor support for each Member State as we transition into the active implementation phase,” stated Vice President Damtien L. Tchintchibidja.
Highlighting the demographic landscape of the ECOWAS region, the Vice President underscored the youthful population’s potential, accounting for nearly 44% under the age of 15 and 65% under 25.
However, challenges such as high unemployment, illiteracy and limited access to basic services, especially impacting women, hinder the region’s full development potential.
Vice President Damtien L. Tchintchibidja outlined significant achievements since the launch of the HCD strategy, including ECOWAS funding for national strategies in 7 out of 15 Member States, with Nigeria and Burkina Faso completing their strategies.
She urged intensified efforts in Phase 2, emphasizing the importance of regional advocacy, resource mobilisation, monitoring mechanisms, capacity building and the establishment of HCD Delivery Units in each member State.
Despite challenges such as political instability, insecurity, climate change, and economic migration, ECOWAS remains committed to advancing the HCD agenda.
Mrs Damtien L. Tchintchibidja called for collective action to transform the region by 2030, thanking financial and technical partners, notably the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for their instrumental support.
In a goodwill message delivered by Charlotte Lejeune, representing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, she emphasized the critical role of investing in healthy, knowledgeable individuals for societal progress.
Ms. Lejeune highlighted the foundation’s commitment to creating opportunities for every person to lead a healthy and productive life. Acknowledging the leadership of Her Excellency, Damtien L. Tchintchibidja, the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission in championing HCD, Ms. Lejeune commended the region’s potential, with a projected population of 570 million by 2050, mostly comprising young individuals under 24 years.
However, Ms. Lejeune also pointed out significant challenges affecting the region’s human capital, including low literacy rates among children, widespread malnutrition, financial inclusion gaps, gender disparities, and maternal mortality rates. These challenges, she emphasized, require urgent attention and innovative solutions.
Highlighting the foundation’s approach to addressing these challenges, Ms. Lejeune discussed the importance of evidence-based interventions and partnerships with communities and governments. She mentioned the Grand Challenges program hosted by Senegal in 2023 as an example of incentivizing innovation to tackle human capital challenges.
Ms. Lejeune reiterated the foundation’s commitment to supporting ECOWAS in advancing HCD priorities and accelerating change through catalytic projects. She emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to achieve tangible results that positively impact human lives across the region.
Background
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) yesterday opened a three-day technical conference on Human Capital Development (HCD) to engage with Member States’ focal points, partners and ECOWAS technical staff around the importance of prioritising HCD in social and economic agendas at the regional, as well as the national levels.
It will review progress towards the development and the implementation of the ECOWAS HCD strategy.
Approved by Heads of State in July 2021 the Human Capital Development strategy sets out the ambitious objective for ECOWAS to become the top HCD performer in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. The strategy focuses on critical areas such as Health and Nutrition, Education, Skills and Labor Market Participation, Entrepreneurship, Financial Inclusion, and Digital Economy.
ECOWAS created an HCD index to monitor on a periodic basis progress not only by the region but also by Member States towards the 2030 set objectives. The first biennial HCD Report presenting the results was produced in 2022.
ECOWAS will release the second report in June 2024.
