ECOWAS Initiates Resilience and Security Assessment in Nigeria

• ECOWAS launches resilience assessment to understand security dynamics and reinforce resilience structures supporting human security in member states
• Funded by EU and BMZ, the project aims to identify security vulnerabilities and resilience factors in Nigeria and other West African countries

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has launched a resilience and human security assessment in its member states.

This initiative aims to enhance understanding of security dynamics and trends and to identify and reinforce resilience structures that support human security across member states.

The project, funded by the European Union and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), seeks to provide valuable insights into security vulnerabilities and resilience factors in Nigeria and other West African countries.

Following a technical session held in Abuja on Monday, Chris Ngwodo, the Director of the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Response in Nigeria, stated that the meeting marked the beginning of Nigeria’s resilience and human security assessment.

Ngwodo emphasized that although conducted across West Africa, this study commenced in Nigeria as the first country. Its primary objectives include mapping human security vulnerabilities, understanding the root causes of conflicts and instability, identifying resilience factors, and gathering empirical data to inform government policy interventions.

He mentioned that the assessment builds upon a previous human security vulnerability exercise conducted in 2018, which proved instrumental in establishing early warning mechanisms across West Africa. The current initiative represents a continuation of this effort.

Ngwodo further explained that the assessment team will visit conflict hotspots and areas that have demonstrated resilience to conflicts and violence. This approach aims to comprehensively understand the factors contributing to resilience.

Overall, the resilience and security assessment project underscores ECOWAS’s commitment to fostering peace, stability, and human security within the region, with Nigeria playing a pivotal role in its implementation.