ECOWAS SPECIALIZED AGENCIES FOCUSED ON THE WATER-ENERGY-FOOD NEXUS, WITH A STRONG EMPHASIS ON GENDER, STRENGTHEN THEIR FRAMEWORK FOR COLLABORATION IN ABIDJAN
"On May 15–16, 2026, the third ECOWAS inter-agency meeting on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus with a Gender Perspective was held at the ECOWAS Resident Mission in Abidjan, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. The objective of this meeting was to take stock of the status of implementation of activities related to the water-energy-food-environment nexus and gender mainstreaming within […]"
On May 15–16, 2026, the third ECOWAS inter-agency meeting on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus with a Gender Perspective was held at the ECOWAS Resident Mission in Abidjan, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.
The objective of this meeting was to take stock of the status of implementation of activities related to the water-energy-food-environment nexus and gender mainstreaming within the ECOWAS region and to identify opportunities for collaborative work in this area.
Following the second meeting held in Praia in July 2025, which notably served to develop project ideas, this meeting focused on strengthening the framework for collaboration, with the added benefit of operational projects.
The following agencies participated in this meeting: CCDG, ECREEE, ARAA, PPDU, CGRE, and CRSA. The African Development Bank (AfDB) also participated to present its continental program on the Water–Food–Energy–Ecosystems Nexus in Africa (WEFE).
In her welcoming remarks, Ms. Sandra OULATÉ FATTOH, Director of the CCDG, emphasized the strategic importance of this meeting, which provides an ideal opportunity to revitalize the framework for collaboration among the agencies involved in the Nexus initiative (ECREEE, PPDU, CCDG, ARAA, and CGRE), a framework that now includes the Regional Animal Health Center.
In her view, the dynamism of the Nexus, as well as the strengthening of synergy among these various agencies and directorates, are critical factors for achieving meaningful results in the Nexus’s response to the various sustainable development challenges facing West African communities.
She concluded by calling on the Nexus agencies and directorates to also take ownership of the new regional program on Gender, Climate Change, and the Green Economy currently being formulated with technical and financial support from UN Women for West and Central Africa (WCARO).
For his part, Mr. Alexis KOUASSI, Director of the Center for Water Resources Management (CGRE), noted that today’s meeting provides an opportunity to revisit the fundamentals of the Nexus, while emphasizing his agency’s readiness to support its implementation.
The CGRE’s commitment is all the more relevant because water represents a key point of convergence among the various areas of focus of the agencies involved in the Nexus. He also highlighted the growing momentum of the Nexus, particularly in terms of communication and visibility, driven by the Director of the CCDG.
He noted, however, that the success of the Nexus imperatively depends on strengthened inter-agency collaboration, breaking away from siloed approaches. In this regard, the AfDB’s special Water-Energy-Food-Environment program offers a strategic opportunity to explore new collaborations and mobilize other key partners for the effective implementation of this transformative regional project.
Mr. Keba FYE, Director of the PPDU, emphasized the need to strengthen coordination among agencies in order to enhance the effectiveness and coherence of interventions within the Nexus framework. The Nexus should also establish itself as a genuine platform for advocacy, enabling the articulation of shared concerns, particularly those related to the operational constraints faced by agencies: among these, procurement procedures feature prominently, warranting in-depth consideration to increase the autonomy of agencies—an essential prerequisite for improving their performance and capacity for action.
He also informed participants of the upcoming Public-Private Partnership Forum on Regional Infrastructure, to be held in Abidjan on July 9, 2026, and invited all agencies to participate.
Ms. Ela GNAZALÉ GOORÉ BI, representing the Acting Executive Director of ECREEE, noted that the Nexus approach is now an absolute necessity rather than an option. In her view, it is now essential to consolidate the gains made and move to a more operational phase, with concrete, high-impact projects, particularly for the benefit of women and youth.
She concluded by reaffirming ECREE’s commitment to the Nexus: “We remain fully prepared to collaborate closely with all partner agencies to strengthen the impact of our joint actions.”
This meeting enabled the Nexus agencies to agree on a series of concrete, joint initiatives to strengthen their collaboration. They decided to organize a strategic retreat from June 29 to July 6, 2026, in Lomé, Togo, to develop a joint regional program integrating their various areas of intervention in order to propose sustainable solutions to the sustainable development challenges faced by women and young people working in the energy and agriculture sectors.
As a reminder, the framework for collaboration on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus with gender integration was originally formalized in September 2024 among five specialized agencies (CCDG, ECREEE, ARAA, PPDU, CGRE) of ECOWAS, which have now been joined by the Regional Center for Animal Health (CRSA). This Nexus has a strategy and a roadmap.
Deep Analysis
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Key Impact
- The third ECOWAS inter-agency meeting in Abidjan has strengthened the framework for collaboration among agencies working on water, energy, and food, promising more integrated projects across West Africa.
- Ghanaian farmers and communities will benefit from more cohesive interventions that link water management, energy supply, and food production, reducing resource conflicts in vulnerable regions like the Northern Savannah.
- The inclusion of gender perspectives in the Nexus framework ensures that women, who are key actors in smallholder farming and water collection in Ghana, are prioritized in new projects.
Background
- This meeting builds on a previous session in Praia, Cape Verde, in July 2025, where initial project ideas were developed, and now focuses on turning those ideas into operational projects.
- ECOWAS specialized agencies such as ECREEE, ARAA, PPDU, and CGRE have been working on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus since its inception, with water identified as a central link connecting all sectors.
- The African Development Bank presented its continental Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems program, which offers a strategic opportunity for Ghana to access new funding and partnerships for sustainable development.
Benefits
- Strengthened collaboration among agencies will lead to more efficient use of resources, such as shared water infrastructure for irrigation and solar-powered pumps, directly aiding Ghana's agricultural productivity in the Upper East Region.
- The focus on gender means women in Ghana, who often manage household water and energy needs, will have better access to training and decision-making roles in Nexus projects.
- Operational projects emerging from this framework can address climate resilience, for example by integrating water conservation with renewable energy for food processing, benefiting rural communities in the Ashanti Region.
Risks & Warnings
- If procurement procedures remain slow and inflexible, Ghanaian agencies may face delays in implementing Nexus-funded projects, reducing their effectiveness.
- Without breaking siloed approaches, individual agencies in Ghana might pursue overlapping goals, wasting resources and confusing local beneficiaries in districts like the Volta Region.
- The success of the Nexus depends on sustained political will and funding; any disruption to ECOWAS support could halt progress on water-energy-food projects critical for Ghana's food security.
Who Is Affected
- Smallholder farmers in Ghana, especially women, who rely on consistent water and energy for crop irrigation and post-harvest processing, will see direct impacts from integrated Nexus projects.
- Regional institutions in Ghana, such as the Water Resources Commission and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, will need to align their strategies with the new collaborative framework to implement projects effectively.
- Local communities in dryland areas like the Savannah Region are affected, as they face the highest risks of water scarcity and energy poverty, and stand to benefit most from gender-sensitive Nexus interventions.
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