By Kebba AF Touray
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, has reported extensively on the activities and contributions of the ECOWAS institutions towards the improvement and enhancement of the welfare of the citizens.
Dr. Touray reported during the closing of the just concluded first ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament, held in Abuja, Nigeria.
The report provided the members of the ECOWAS Parliament with insights into the remarkable resilience despite the current economic, political and security contexts at both the international and regional levels that the Community has continued to show.
These ECOWAS Institutions are the ECOWAS Parliament, ECOWAS Court of Justice, and WAHO, which have made giant and significant contributions to the well-being of the citizens of the ECOWAS Community.
ECOWAS Parliament:
He said that the ECOWAS Parliament held its ordinary sessions as well as several committee meetings, to review and adopt its 2025 work Programme as well as draft texts to be submitted to the Council of Ministers and the Authority of Heads of State and Government for adoption.
Court of Justice:
He said that at the level of the Court of Justice, the Court continued with efforts at enhancing its visibility.
In an attempt to bring justice closer to the grassroots or Community citizens who may lack the means or capacity to travel to the Court’s headquarters in Abuja, the institution held its external court sessions at the High Court in Osborne, Ikoyi, Lagos-Nigeria, from 8 to 16 May 2025.
During the session, he indicated that fifty-two (52) cases were handled, comprising thirty-seven (37) hearings, two (2) rulings, and 13 judgments rendered.
During the same period, he said that the Court held seventy Court Sessions (70), there was no advisory opinion, and twenty-four (24) cases were filed.
“The Court delivered thirty-six (36) Decisions, comprising thirty-four (34) Judgments and two (2) Rulings, and four (4) Orders, eighty-three (83) cases were pending before the Court,” Dr. Touray reported.
The Registry he added also received and processed one hundred and ten (110) legal documents and effected a total of one thousand, two hundred and ninety-eight (1,298) hybrid services on parties before the Court.
He pointed out that there are Two Hundred and thirty-eight (238) court processes awaiting translation, and in addition, the Court also participated in several meetings and workshops.
“These workshops and meetings are aimed at improving the effective functioning of the Community Court. The Court has also taken steps to ensure the enforcement of her judgment by the Member States,” he said.
WEST AFRICA HEALTH ORGANISATION – WAHO:
President Touray told the regional lawmakers that concerning health in the region, there was an increase in case load on Mpox and multiple concurrent epidemics.
He highlighted that these cases include cholera, meningitis, chikungunya, measles (reported in all Member States except Cabo Verde), Lassa fever (particularly in Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone), and dengue fever (affecting Cabo Verde, Ghana, Guinea, and Senegal) plague the region.
He said, “Sierra Leone is experiencing an outbreak of Mpox, with 2,648 confirmed cases and 14 related deaths reported, almost double the cumulative total of confirmed Mpox cases reported by five other affected countries in the region.”
He averred that other countries reported to have been affected by the epidemics, namely Nigeria (1,186), Côte d’Ivoire (119), Liberia (94), Ghana (137), Guinea (5) and Togo (2) as of May 19, 2025, and “the epidemic was officially declared on January 9, 2025.”
Increases in major infectious diseases, he said, have been recorded, 14 with malaria cases rising by approximately four million new cases (17%), measles up by 29.4% and cholera cases up by 152%.
In addition, he said a regional community health policy has been adopted with four strategic pillars.
These strategic pillars are strengthening community health governance and institutionalisation; establishing innovative, equitable and sustainable financing; harmonising the essential package of community services on a regional scale and developing a digitalised health information system with an effective community monitoring-evaluation mechanism.
To Strengthen Epidemic Surveillance and Management in the region, he said that ECOWAS has procured thirty state-of-the-art ambulances for ECOWAS countries.
The commission, he said, has also commenced weekly publication of epidemiological bulletins, covering all Member States, and organised a tabletop exercise on the Mpox response for nine (9) West African countries, with a particular focus on vaccine deployment.
“The ECOWAS Commission, through WAHO, continues to collaborate with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI), aimed at improving the region’s preparedness for epidemics, pandemics, and prevention and response to infectious diseases,” Dr. Touray stated.
Community Institutions have continued to implement projects and activities aimed at improving the welfare and well-being of the citizens.
The role of Member States in complying with ECOWAS frameworks such as the Community Levy Act and the rulings of the ECOWAS Court, among others, is crucial for the accelerated development and integration of the region.
“As representatives of the people, I invite you to urge our national authorities to do their part in making our community work and succeed,” Dr. Touray concluded.
