CDJS and PVC figures for 2023

REPORT DOCUMENTS

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CDJS and PVC figures for 2023 In June 2007, the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS adopted a new approach to regional integration by endorsing the ECOWAS Vision 2020, the main objective of which is to transform the community from an ECOWAS of states into an ECOWAS of peoples. A few years earlier, in 2004, the ECOWAS Commission had launched the ECOWAS Volunteers Programme (PVC) with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, as part of the ECOWAS Peace and Development Programme (PADEP). The missions of the CDJS/ECOWAS are to initiate, develop, coordinate, monitor and implement programmes relating to youth development within the community, with the aim of fostering greater youth engagement in the ECOWAS integration process. Since its creation, the centre has been implementing three programmes that contribute to the achievement of its objectives. These are the sports, youth and volunteering programmes. The implementation of the PVC was followed by the establishment of a partnership between the ECOWAS Commission and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in 2005. Through a participatory and iterative process, the programme was officially launched on 26 March 2010 with the support of various departments and divisions of the ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS Member States, civil society, young people, United Nations Volunteers, UNESCO and the African Development Bank. There are various reasons for implementing this programme. These include, in particular, the pursuit of peace through conflict prevention and management; the fight against youth unemployment, which is a factor contributing to instability within countries; and the inclusion of this section of the population in community development and regional integration. This regional policy makes the PVC a genuine catalyst for national development and the strengthening of young people’s skills. In accordance with the terms of service, the PVC has designed and adopted an identity card for volunteers. The card, whilst clearly identifying them as ECOWAS volunteers, is intended to facilitate their free movement within their host country and to protect them from any unjustified harassment. When deployed to the host country or upon taking up their duties, volunteers receive induction training. These workshops always cover four key areas, including: volunteering, information on ECOWAS, knowledge of the host country and the promotion of a culture of peace. In addition to the Centre and the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), whose headquarters are in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, respectively, as well as the ECOWAS Peace Fund, based in Abuja, Nigeria, three countries – namely Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – have already hosted ECOWAS volunteers, as have international organisations such as UNFPA (Sierra Leone), the WFP and the FAO (Liberia). Between 2010 and 2023, two hundred and eleven (211) volunteers of 13 different nationalities from our community were deployed in the field with the support of partners. The majority are aged between 18 and 38. This means that the ECOWAS volunteer programme is primarily aimed at young people within the community. Furthermore, the ECOWAS Volunteer Programme takes gender issues into account. Thus, the breakdown by gender is 68 women and 143 men. Women account for 32 per cent of the total, whilst men account for nearly 68 per cent. These volunteers, who are mainly young people, are active in several sectors, including education, health; youth, sport, communication, administration, monitoring and evaluation, gender development, ICT, agriculture, etc., and play an active role in socio-community development. Thus, depending on the areas of intervention, the breakdown of volunteers is as follows: Table: Breakdown of volunteers by area of activity Source: CDJS/ECOWAS By way of illustration, in the education sector, 501 classes were taught by volunteers to 11,681 pupils, comprising 6,757 boys and 7,039 girls. The results of these educational activities are satisfactory. There has been a significant increase in the number of pupils admitted to secondary school-leaving examinations in Sierra Leone and Liberia, with a pass rate of over 90 per cent. In the health sector, the results are also satisfactory. PVC midwives treated 1,051 patients, and PVC family medicine specialists treated 1,361 patients. Nephrology nurses treated 981 patients; in the Cardio-Renal Unit, 200 inpatients were cared for by volunteers. The PVC intensive care nurse admitted 293 patients. Paediatric nurses, meanwhile, treated 2,289 patients; palliative care nurses treated 391; dental surgeons treated 1,159; and radiographers treated 452. In terms of the development of host communities, 783 people were trained in a range of areas, including leadership, citizenship, the organisation and management of an NGO, violence against women, the logical framework, and project development and management, amongst others. These various achievements demonstrate that the PVC is a genuine catalyst for development and for improving people’s living conditions, primarily through its community capacity-building programme. The volunteers help to raise awareness and mobilise young people around issues of public interest, such as cleaning public spaces, the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, early and unwanted pregnancies, and violence.