Challenges and Interventions in Western African States

The West African states have been making progress in the economic growth while prioritizing on regional cooperation and democratization. However, in the recent times it has been observed that the Western African states has been encountering an increased cases relating to drug trafficking, piracy, extremism and pandemics which has been affecting the peace and harmony or the livelihood of the people living in the areas (World Bank 2021). Different interventions are already in place in the different areas of Western African states like strengthening local governance, improving land management, and creation of jobs or employment opportunities for the localities.

However, there are several concerns that are being faced by the government and the people to keep up with the standards of peace and conflict resolution which has been increasing the threat of crisis. In this connection, collection of information is an integral part that must be considered by the concerned authorities in order to ensure the resolution of the conflict areas and thereby develop peaceful arrangements while developing multilateral cooperation. The insufficiency of information among the authorities like the local governance bodies and the different other responsible administrators limits their capability in understanding the areas of concerns and designing suitable interventions in order to restore peace and stability in the areas.

Total Information Technology is capable of developing efficient information systems which would drive and collect information on the different areas of challenges and conflicts. The information would be fruitful for the governance bodies to utilize as an efficient method of designing and implementing interventions. According to Huggins (2021), a clear identification on the concern areas support the local administrators and governance bodies in identifying, analyzing and resolving concerns in a region. In this connection, the West African States and ECOWAS Parliament might take the initiative of developing community engagement programs into the collection of different information on the areas of concerns.

Sifolo (2021) opined that the proactive engagement of the community stakeholders and the members support an institution in conducting efficient research for identifying the concerns. The West African States and ECOWAS Parliament must take the initiative of assuring the restoration of peace and a healthy lifestyle among the people while encouraging the same to engage proactively in the information collection activity which would support in identifying the root cause of the concerns. The identification of the concerns would be supporting the local and the state authorities in developing efficient interventions.

Community participation is a major consideration that might be made in order to gather and analyze quality information on the different types of issues. After the identification of the concerns, the state and the central authorities must take the initiative of devising a consultation session and thereby design plans in order to resolve the root causes of the conflicts in the regions while promoting peace and stability. In this connection, the local and state governments in collaboration with the ECOWAS Parliament are advised to create an online portal in order to collect information on the different areas of concerns that are prevalent in the different regions.

Therefore, the use of TIT and community participation by the West African States and ECOWAS Parliament would address the data based needs while making the same aware of the diverse range of concerns that are being faced by the people in the regions. However, information that is stored through the TIT might encounter threats related to data theft and piracy. Therefore, the governance bodies and administrators must take the initiative of different protective measures in order to safeguard the information. Major concerns that are being identified would be analyzed and prioritized as per the governance mandates. Implementation of the strategic interventions would act towards the resolution of the concerns and the development in the current state of peace and stability in the regions.

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References

Huggins, C., Chenje, M., Mohamed-Katerere, J. and Attere, F., 2021. ENVIRONMENT FOR PEACE AND REGIONAL COOPERATION. [online] Available at: [Accessed 6 May 2021]

Sifolo, N., 2021. Assessing the Role and Capability of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union in Bringing about Peace in Africa: A Case Study of Burundi and Sudan. [online] Researchspace.ukzn.ac.za. Available at: [Accessed 6 May 2021].

World Bank, 2021. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa. [online] World Bank. Available at: [Accessed 6 May 2021].