The fourth high-level meeting on “Peaceful transhumance and livestock mobility in the Sahel and West African coastal countries” was held by ECOWAS from 27-29 September 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Livestock ministers from across the region endorsed the funding modalities to establish the Regional Investment Programme for Livestock Development in Coastal Countries (PRIDEC), targeting the livestock sector of five coastal countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo). PRIDEC is designed to complement the Regional Support Project for Pastoralism in the Sahel (PRAPS). Read on

Aïd-El-Kébir, the Muslim sacrifice feast also known as “Tabaski,” was celebrated on 1 September across West Africa, 69 days after the end of Ramadan. It is one of the most important religious days on the Muslim calendar and represents a busy and expensive time for families. Read on

For the sixth time, the High-Level Committee on Food Security of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) took stock of the region’s food and nutrition situation. West African leaders met following the meeting of the UEMOA ministers in charge of agriculture and livestock, on 9 June in Niamey, Niger, under the chairmanship of Niger President Issoufou Mahamadou. Read on

Sahelian migration within the region: Burkina Faso and Mali alone are responsible for over 28% of West African emigrants. Along with Niger and Chad, they are the countries whose migration trajectories are most centered on neighbouring and nearby countries. Emigrants from Senegal and Mauritania are more oriented towards the rest of the world. Read on