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WEST AFRICA REGIONAL PROGRAM
>> Regional Overview >> WARP Overview
Development Challenge Summary Tables
Program Summary
USAID Search: West Africa Regional
Previous Years' Activities
2001, 200052
Introduction
The West African Regional Program (WARP) became formally operational as a separate USAID program in October 2000. WARP combines the activities of the former Sahel Regional Program (SRP) and the Family Health and AIDS in West and Central Africa (FHA) activity into a dynamic new program which aims at stimulating regional cooperation and integration in West Africa. The goal of the program is a "Politically Stable and Economically Prosperous West Africa."
The fifteen member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Togo) constitute the core geographic area of the WARP program. Some activities also incorporate Chad (a member of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel-CILSS), Cameroon (headquarters of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Laws in Africa-OHADA), and some of the other Customs Union of Central African States countries (Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo-Brazzaville). Mauritania withdrew from ECOWAS as of January 2001, but will remain within the scope of selected WARP activities.
The WARP was developed in response to the growing realization that most West African countries cannot function in isolation as economically viable entities. It is predicated upon the conviction that greater regional integration and political stability are essential requirements for the achievement of sustainable development in the region. The WARP will therefore respond to regional socioeconomic issues and problems which clearly transcend the borders of the nations of ECOWAS, and support a common ECOWAS strategy in areas of trade, economic development, disease prevention, food security, environmental protection and conflict prevention.
The Development Challenge
Major social and economic indicators for West Africa describe a region that is desperately poor and, for the most part, economically stagnant. The countries in the ECOWAS region are among the least developed countries in the world. A large part of the regional population lacks access to adequate housing as well as to essential services such as potable water, sanitation, basic education and primary health care. Unemployment and underemployment are rampant, and job opportunities are few. The region's natural resource base is being depleted at a non-renewable rate, and corruption levels are high. Finally, over the last decade, the region has experienced a high incidence of conflict. Most observers agree that regional and global integration through economic diversification must be improved before incomes can be expected to grow at levels needed to reduce poverty and assure political and economic stability. On the positive side, the region has demonstrated a desire to improve the quality of regional cooperation and has begun to address some of its major problems (i.e., food security, intra-regional trade, security, monetary union issues) through regional organizations such as CILSS, OHADA and ECOWAS itself. However, much remains to be done, including the rationalization of these activities, and USAID, and other donors, are looking for effective ways to support these West African initiatives.
A Governing Board, constituted in 1998 and composed of USAID senior staff working on West Africa issues, oversaw the development of the WARP. The program, which incorporated the on-going activities of the existing SRP and FHA programs, transitioned from the planning to the implementation phase in 2000. The development of the WARP involved a well-orchestrated process for obtaining inputs from key regional organizations, both public and private sector donors and African experts, through a series of round-table discussions and other consultations. Numerous U.S. Government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, State Department, and the Departments of Commerce, Justice, Defense, and Transportation, were also consulted. The diagnostic reports constituted an in-depth review of priority sectors that the Governing Board had identified for potential Agency support: regional economic integration and energy; health, population, and nutrition; food security, environment and natural resources management; and, democracy and governance.
Development assistance within the regional context not only leverages resources but also serves U.S. interests by reinforcing some of the goals under the Strategic Plan for International Affairs Agencies (SPIAA). Specific SPIAA goals supported by the program include helping to work toward global economic prosperity and the expansion of markets for U.S. goods and services; adequate health care and AIDS prevention; helping to address environmental problems, including global climate change; the furtherance of democracy and human rights; and, regional political stability.
Other Donors
Donor coordination is another way to leverage resources and maximize outcomes for the region. The World Bank has prepared, and is currently vetting, a regional strategy that will be launched in 2001. USAID, along with all other major donors in the region, participated in the initial strategy review. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, under the Club du Sahel, has also recognized the utility of looking at a regional perspective in its future programming and is working with USAID in its consultations.
FY 2002 Program
Within each of the strategic focus areas, activities have been developed that: (1) support regional contributions to the removal of identified constraints to regional cooperation or integration; (2) distinguish the merits of a regional, versus a bilateral, program focus without losing sight of the complementary nature of the two approaches; and, (3) help to leverage resources for both the regional and bilateral programs. Four common constraints to regional integration, identified in the development stage of the WARP, remain central to the development of programmatic activities. These constraints are poor governance, weak institutions, inadequate information and knowledge exchange, and uncoordinated donor efforts.
In FY 2002, the WARP will focus upon completing the task of reorienting and refining the remaining SRP and FHA program activities to better reflect and implement the WARP's strategic objectives, above all in the areas of (1) reproductive health, child survival and maternal health, and HIV/AIDS and (2) food security, environment and natural resources. It will also take steps to deepen its regional economic integration program and to complete the establishment of its program in the area of conflict prevention.
Activity Data Sheets
- 624-001, Increased Use of Selected, Regional Reproductive Health, HIV/STI, and Child Survival Services and/or Products in the WCA Region
- 624-004, Regional Economic Integration Strengthened in West Africa
- 624-005, Increased, Sustainable Use of Selective Reproductive Health, STI/HIV/AIDS, Child Survival and Maternal Health Services and/or Products in West Africa
- 624-006, Food Security and Environmental and Natural Resources Policies and Programs Strengthened and Implemented in West Africa
- 624-007, Early Detection and Response Mechanisms to Prevent Regional Conflicts Established and Functioning
- 625-001, Assist National Governments, Regional Institutions and Private Sector Associations to Identify, Clarify, and Implement Policy Options which Promote Trade and Investment in the West Africa Region
- 625-002, Regional Dialogue Increased on the Role of Civil Society and Communal, Local and National Governments in Achieving Improved Management of Natural Resources, Food Security, and Market Development
- 625-003, Decision Makers Have Ready Access to Relevant Information on Food Security, Population and Environment
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
