Building a community capable of anticipating health crises, detecting threats at an early stage, sharing information rapidly, and responding in a coordinated and effective manner.

This was the wish expressed by the Resident Representative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, in Togo, Ms Deweh Emily Gray, on Tuesday 6 October 2026, in Lomé, the Togolese capital, at the opening of the 11th annual meeting of the animal health networks on the theme "Strengthening the surveillance and control of transboundary animal diseases within the ECOWAS region."

For Ms Deweh Emily Gray, the choice of this theme speaks for itself, as it reflects ECOWAS's commitment to protecting animal resources, supporting the economic development of its Member States and promoting regional integration.

Among animal resources, she cited livestock farming, which is a vital component of West Africa's agricultural economy, noting that it contributes significantly to food and nutritional security, whilst also representing an important source of income for local communities.

"However, this vital sector remains exposed to persistent and re-emerging threats linked to transboundary animal diseases, notably Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Avian Influenza and Rabies," said Ms Deweh Emily Gray.

Echoing this sentiment, the Togolese Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty, speaking through his Chief of Staff, Dindiogue Konlani, outlined some approaches to better tackle these threats.

"Faced with these health threats, no country can tackle them alone. The fight against animal diseases is, by its very nature, a matter of solidarity and collective action," he suggested.

Both Dindiogue Konlani and Ms Deweh Emily Gray urged participants to engage in constructive and fruitful discussions that would lead to relevant recommendations to further strengthen the surveillance and control of epizootics.

For their part, the representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Lionel Gbaguidi, and the Director of the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Dr Huyam Salih, represented by the Regional Coordinator for the Control and Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants in West Africa, Dr Perdita Hilary Lopes, expressed their thanks to ECOWAS and the Regional Centre for Animal Health (CRSA) for their constant leadership in promoting regional cooperation in animal health.

They reiterated their commitment to working with ECOWAS, its Member States and regional institutions to strengthen coordinated action against transboundary animal diseases, support veterinary laboratories and develop information systems capable of providing reliable data for rapid and coordinated decision-making.

The objectives of this meeting are to consolidate regional animal health governance, strengthen coordination among the various stakeholders and adopt strategic and operational tools essential for the prevention, early detection and control of transboundary animal diseases.

Participants include heads of Veterinary Services, presidents of National Veterinary Associations, and focal points of the regional networks of animal health laboratories (RESOLAB) and epidemiological surveillance (RESEPI) from ECOWAS and Sahel Member States.

Representatives of the Regional Centre for Animal Health (CRSA), the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Disease Control, as well as technical and financial partners, are also taking part in the proceedings.

They will, in particular, analyse and adopt the electronic platform of the Regional Animal Health Information System (RAHIS) developed by the CRSA, designed to improve the collection, analysis, sharing and use of zoo-sanitary data for rapid and coordinated decision-making.

On the sidelines of the meeting, a meeting of ECOWAS ministers responsible for animal health will be held to approve regional strategies for the protection and conservation of donkeys by 2030, for the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease in West Africa (2026–2030) and for the prevention and control of highly pathogenic avian influenza and the associated action plans (2026–2031).

This 11th annual meeting of the animal health networks is organised by the Regional Centre for Animal Health (CRSA), a specialised agency of the ECOWAS Commission. Originally based in Bamako, Mali, it is now located in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.

Established in 2012, the CRSA is responsible for strengthening regional cooperation on animal health and welfare. Its primary mission is to coordinate and harmonise the policies and interventions of ECOWAS Member States in the prevention and control of transboundary animal diseases and zoonoses.

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For further information, please contact: Communications Directorate, ECOWAS Commission Twitter: @ecowas_cedeao – Facebook: Ecowas-Cedeao - www.ecowas.int

About ECOWAS

On 28 May 1975, the Heads of State and Government of fifteen West African countries established the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by signing the ECOWAS Treaty in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Lagos Treaty was signed by the 15 Heads of State and Government of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo, with the stated aim of promoting economic integration in the region. The Senegalese President was represented by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Cape Verde joined the Union in 1977. The only Arabic-speaking member, Mauritania, withdrew in December 2000. Mauritania recently signed a new association agreement in August 2017.

On 29 January 2025, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger officially withdrew from ECOWAS. The current ECOWAS member states are Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo. Regarded as one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, ECOWAS was established to promote the ideal of collective self-sufficiency amongst its member states. As a trade union, it also aims to create a single, large trading bloc through economic cooperation.

The integrated economic activities envisaged within the region, which has a combined GDP of $734.8 billion, cover, amongst other things, industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, trade, monetary and financial matters, as well as social and cultural issues.

In 2007, the ECOWAS Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. The Commission is headed by the President, assisted by a Vice-President, five Commissioners and the Auditor-General of ECOWAS institutions, comprising experienced civil servants who provide leadership for this new direction.

The ECOWAS budget is primarily funded by revenue collected through the Community levy. This levy was introduced to finance its activities. The rate of the Community levy is set at 0.5 per cent of the CIF value of goods imported from non-ECOWAS member states.

As part of this renewal process, ECOWAS is implementing critical and strategic programmes that will deepen cohesion and gradually remove the identified barriers to full integration. In this way, the community's approximately 300 million citizens will finally be able to take ownership of realising the new vision, which is to move from an ECOWAS of states to an 'ECOWAS of the people': 'Peace and prosperity for all' by 2050.