ECOWAS, UN to shoot documentary on West African women traders

The ECOWAS Commission and the United Nations (UN) are jointly producing a television documentary that will project the contributions of women in regional cross-border trade.

“The documentary will be shot on pilot locations along the Nigeria-Benin, Liberia-Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia-Sierra Leone borders,” ECOWAS said in a statement April 4, 2012 after the project was launched at its Abuja headquarters on Tuesday April 3, 2012.

According to the regional bloc, the film seeks to document the challenges faced by women traders and entrepreneurs in the region with a view to raising awareness for advocacy to address the challenges.

It adds that the documentary will also highlight economic losses due to ineffective implementation of the relevant ECOWAS Protocol and “seek to influence policy-makers through appropriate recommendations on how to improve trade and gender issues in the region”.

The ECOWAS Directorate of Gender has been mandated to lead efforts on the project, in conjunction with the Trade, Private Sector, and Free Movement Directorates and the Communication Department of the body.

By Ekow Quandzie