By: Mnena Iyorkegh, Abuja
ECOWAS Commission has commenced the process of developing a comprehensive digital platform to serve as a centralized system for data input by national focal points to enhance drug use information under the West African Epidemiology Network On Drug Use(WENDU) project.
The Commissioner, Human Development and Social Affairs, ECOWAS Commission, Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, disclosed at the Validation Workshop of the 2024 Report of the West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU), in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital .
WENDU is aimed at enhancing the informational infrastructure available to policymakers within ECOWAS Member States.
Declaring the workshop open, the Commissioner, Human Development and Social Affairs, represented by the Principal Program Officer for Drug Prevention and Control at the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Daniel Amankwah, noted that the ECOWAS Commission takes priority in improving and sustaining the WENDU.
“The development of this platform underscores ECOWAS’s commitment to strengthening regional cooperation in combating drug abuse and its associated consequences, contributing to improved public health and security across West Africa. The platform is envisioned to be a robust, secure, and user-friendly system that caters for the diverse needs of its users, facilitating a more coordinated and effective regional response to drug-related issues”, he sad
According to Professor Sarr, a credible WENDU report is crucial to improving evidence-based drug prevention and control activities both at the national and regional levels.
“The ECOWAS Commission puts a high importance on the collection, collation and validation of the WENDU data before it is published. This 3 days’ workshop will also be used to improve the capacity of the WENDU focal points in the collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of drug-related data through the training on new data collection tools. I assure you that ECOWAS Commission is very committed and will continue to do its best with all Member States and Partners to effectively fulfil its role in making sure that the drug menace is effectively controlled”, she said
Commending on ECOWAS achievement for the past fifty years, Professor Sarr, said the anniversary celebration is time to reflect and think towards a better West Africa.
“Today, we have gathered here to kill three birds with one stone. One, today is ECOWAS Day, a day of reflection. The road has not been all that smooth but the summary of it all is that we have survived. ECOWAS continues to make lasting impact in the lives of people and communities across West Africa and beyond. Second, this year marks the 50th Anniversary of ECOWAS. As part of the celebration, we are happy to announce that the Commission is finalising a documentary on drug prevention and control in West Africa. The documentary features some of you and the work you do. Today, we begin the validation of the 2024 drug data which will be published soon in a yet to be determined Member State. The data has been compiled by the resource persons and we look forward to your review of the data to make sure they represent what was transmitted”, she said
On her part, the Director Narcotics and Drugs Abuse Divison, Nigeria’s Ministry of Health, Mrs. Hennrietta Bakurd-Onyeneke, decry that the region faces great challenge of drug use and trafficking that need urgent attention.
“We are at a critical junction that demands renewed resolve, collection of action to confront the evolving landscape of drug use and trafficking across the region. The impact of substance use disorders mixed with poverty, crime, public health burdens and social exclusion continues to pose significant challenges to the development and stability in West Africa. So we want to expect that this workshop that has underscored the core of WENDU, which stands for strengthening our regional capacity to generate accurate, timely and actionable data, data that will reflect the magnitude and patterns of drug use, and also enable us to design informed, effective and sustainable responses. It is our belief that our ability to build strong, coordinated mechanisms for surveillance and reporting will be key to shaping the future of drug prevention and control in ECOWAS member states”, she said
Mrs. She added that workshop is a call to action to all members states, urging them to make good use of the opportunity.
“I want to enjoin us that over the next three days as we engage in this validation, we assure that the data transmitted by each and every one of us here as dedicated national focal points will truly capture the reality on the ground in terms of the drug seizures, in terms of arrests or treatment admissions and emerging trends. This is not just a technical exercise, but it is also a call to action. A regional imperative to protect the health, security and well-being of our communities. Let us therefore seize this opportunity to collaborate, to cooperate, to learn and strengthen our collective resolve in addressing substance use and illicit drug trafficking across ECOWAS”, she added
The workshop aims to promote inter-agency collaboration and strengthen mechanisms for real-time information exchange systems amongst WENDU focal points.
The three day workshop attracted National Focal Points of WENDU from ECOWAS Member States and representatives of the relevant Directorates of the ECOWAS Commission.
