The 58th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and government has held virtually, in compliance with the covid-19 protocols.
The summit had all Heads of State and government in attendance including the head of the Mali transition government, who was attending for the first time
The heads of government meet to harmonise their response to the corona virus pandemic, whose second wave has hit member states hard.
The Authority of Heads of State and Government agreed to continue measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic within the region
They also agreed to source the COVID-19 vaccines as a bloc in order to reduce cost and minimise competition.
The Heads of Government are also concerned about the cost of testing for the deadly virus across the region and agree to harmonise the cost to 50 dollars. But beyond the pandemic, the rise in terrorism in the subregion is also brought up for discussion
An Action plan endorsed in 2019 in the fight against terrorism is now to be implemented as quickly as possible to help address insurgency and terrorist attacks in the region
The Government of Ghana pledges 50million dollars to support the implementation of the plan and to address piracy in the gulf of guinea while the Nigerian government pledges 100 million dollars
President Banda of Mali participated in the meeting for the first time as the Head of the transition Government
The finalisation of the roadway for the transition is in progress and would be presented and adopted soon.
Covid-19 was also reported to have greatly affected the single currency project. Heads of State and government agreed to exempt 2020 and 2021 from the respecting the convergence pact
The Authority of Heads of State and government also agreed to adopt a new path and develop a new road map which will be presented in the next meeting in June 2021.
