#ECOWAS@40Podcast -- Ep.6: #StopBokoHaram, #SouthSudanEncore, #ECOWASGenderPolicy, #ECOWASEnergy

where we give you insights into all that is ECOWAS.

Africa/the AU. We then move on to what ECOWAS and/or AU accounts are tweeting.

Third, we give listeners an ECOWAS Fact; and, finally, “What's my ECOWAS Beef?”

where I offer candid views on a trending topic. In today's edition, we are looking

at events the Show is involved in one may have missed.

Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan report that was never disclosed to the

public is seriously denting the image of the continental organisation (as if it

didn't have enough headaches, what with #MugabeFalls! and all!). The country

has been trending for all the wrong reasons. Let's take a look at what some of

the tweets that have attracted the highest RTs.

surprises, then, why there are more tweets this week as the stories of the

fight to ouster the militant Islamic group continues in dramatic detail.

3.     ECOWAS

FACT

2. Closely related to this is the news that the African Development Bank (AfDB), the ECOWAS Centre

for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), and the United

States-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have formed a

partnership centered on linking gender and energy access.

The three have jointly organised an

inception workshop to launch a project about developing an ECOWAS Policy for

Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access and its Implementation Strategy. The

workshop will be held TODAY Tuesday, February 24, 2015, at the Bank's headquarters

in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. “AfDB's role is grounded in its Energy Policy, which

advocates for 'universal access to energy,' said Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi,

AfDB's Special Envoy on Gender.

Participants include Côte d'Ivoire's

Minister for Family, Women and Children, AfDB's Special Envoy on Gender, the

ECOWAS Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender, and the Executive Director

of ECREEE. Representatives from the respective Ministries of Energy of the

ECOWAS member states, partner institutions of ECREEE and other stakeholders

will also be present.

The project aims at establishing a

regional policy and its implementation strategy that will support the region's

energy efficiency and renewable energy policies. It will also enhance the

Sustainable Energy for All's (SE4ALL) initiative of achieving the goals of

universal access to modern energy services..

The ECOWAS Policy for Gender

Mainstreaming in Energy Access, the first of its kind globally, aims at

addressing barriers that hinder the participation of women in energy access. It will ensure that women make both

intellectual and business-wise contributions to ending the region's energy

crises. Women comprise up 50 percent of the region's population and 43 percent

of the ECOWAS labour force.

4.     Past

Events

Ghana has two new networks that
“Africa in Focus” Show/ Radio XYZ is a part of. They are the West

Africa Drug Policy Network; and the WPSI Communications Network on

UNSCR1325 (that promotes gender participation in peace and security).

The West Africa Drug Policy
Network is backed by the Senegal-based West Africa Commission on Drugs, and was

established in Accra following a two-day civil society meeting that sought to

explore ways in which CSOs can play critical roles in drug policy in the

sub-region.

The WPSI Communications Network
on UNSCR1325 was established after a two-day follow-up Media strategy meeting,

which was held under the auspices of the Women Peace & Security Institute

of KAIPTC here in Accra.