Date: 2009
Author: HFP/ ECOWAS

The HFP worked in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission in order to assess and enhance long-term planning capacity during its restructuring and expansion. The aim of this report is to present some preliminary findings as to the institutional challenges that ECOWAS as an inter-governmental organisation (IGO) will face in addressing these challenges of future conflict and humanitarian crises. The drivers of such crises have been analysed and presented in far greater depth elsewhere within the project while HFP’s collaboration with regional scientists aims to broker networks that may provide robust assessments of and some solutions to such future crises.As with the rest of the project, this report responds specifically to Component 13 of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF)on Humanitarian Assistance, and its undertakings to: build up capacities for humanitarian strategic planning; enhance the capacity of the Early Warning System to relate political, socio-economic and geophysical trends to humanitarian crisis propensities; and to mainstream humanitarian crisis prevention, preparedness and response activities into the ECOWAS peace and security architecture.It also responds explicitly to the Policy for DRR’s prioritisation of expanding, coordinating and harmonising ECOWAS early warning systems to incorporate humanitarian issues.