Improving coordination, effectiveness, and accountability in regional humanitarian actions is the primary goal of a capacity-building workshop on Monitoring-Evaluation and Financial Reporting of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Humanitarian Interventions. The event is being held from November 5 to 8, 2024, in Suleja, Niger State, Nigeria.
The workshop is organized for Member State focal points responsible for Humanitarian Response and Disaster Management along with ECOWAS staff by the Department in Charge of Human Development and Social Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission through the Directorate of Humanitarian and Social Affairs.
This initiative responds to the ECOWAS Commission's recognition of the need to strengthen Member States' capacity in operationalizing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems and financial reporting for humanitarian interventions. It forms part of broader efforts by ECOWAS to enhance coordination, effectiveness, and accountability in regional humanitarian action.
Ezenekwe Tochukwu, Programme Officer at Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, opened the workshop on behalf of Ezelu Valentine, Director of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. According to Mr. Ezelu Valentine, "the challenges facing our region are multiple and complex," requiring coordinated responses. He emphasized that robust M&E frameworks ensure humanitarian responses are effective and sustainable while expressing gratitude to ECOWAS for uniting stakeholders to bolster regional capacity.
Dr. Sintiki T. Ugbe, Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs at the ECOWAS Commission, highlighted that effective M&E systems are crucial for resource efficiency, evidence-based decision-making, and continuous improvement in humanitarian response efforts. She stated: “You are all aware that the humanitarian needs are endless... therefore we must also act fast with our response.” Dr. Ugbe underscored adopting consistent financial reporting practices using software tools for accurate data collection as vital.
Dr. Ugbe also welcomed developing an ECOWAS Humanitarian M&E platform offering a centralized system for Member States to share experiences related to their interventions.
The interactive workshop encourages active participation among attendees covering aspects like data collection, analysis, reporting integration into national systems. Participants will gain practical experience navigating this platform by entering data producing reports interpreting results effectively.
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