The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) on Wednesday launched the rollout of the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions (GES-PI), an initiative aimed at strengthening inclusive governance and equity within regional institutions.

The launch was held at the bank’s headquarters in Lomé, Togo, during a coordination meeting of ECOWAS institutions on the implementation of the Gender Equality Seal.

The meeting was convened by the ECOWAS Commission and chaired by its Vice President, Damtien Larbli Tchintchibidja. Participants included EBID senior management, led by the bank’s president, George Agyekum Donkor, as well as representatives of the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In her opening remarks, the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission said gender equality was not merely a social objective but a strategic requirement for governance and sustainable development, in line with ECOWAS Vision 2050. The framework places people at the center of development and aims to build a stable, prosperous, and inclusive region.

She said the vision could not be achieved if women remained underrepresented in leadership and decision-making roles.

According to her, the introduction of the Gender Equality Seal at EBID sends a strong governance signal, given the bank’s central role in financing regional integration, sustainable growth, and economic empowerment. The seal provides a structured framework to translate political commitments into concrete institutional reforms.

Binta Sanneh, UNDP resident representative in Togo, described the initiative as timely and transformative, noting that significant gaps persist despite progress made in West Africa.

She said that in 2023 women accounted for around 18% of seats in national parliaments across the sub-region, compared with a continental average of 26.5%, while their representation in governments and local authorities remained below 15%.

UNDP stressed that the GES-PI is an operational tool rather than a symbolic label, relying on data-driven assessments and measurable evaluation mechanisms to drive institutional change.

So far, 17 public institutions in nine African countries, including four in West Africa, have committed to the process, delivering measurable improvements in organisational culture, performance, and innovation.

By joining the initiative, EBID aims to strengthen its internal governance and enhance its appeal to international donors and investors, who are increasingly attentive to inclusion and equal-opportunity standards. The bank also seeks to align its practices with international frameworks, including the UN 2030 Agenda, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and ECOWAS Vision 2050.

S.A

Togo’s capital, Lomé, will update and expand its addressing system in the coming months. A feasibility study for the project was presented on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Lomé during a meeting organized by the Autonomous District of Greater Lomé (DAGL).

The initiative aims to update street names and the numbering of land parcels and buildings, including residential properties, businesses, and public services, while incorporating newly developed areas across the metropolitan region. Technical teams from the DAGL will develop a computerized database integrating named and coded roads, as well as geolocated data for each address point. Each address will be based on a metric system linked to a unique entry number.

Once completed, the project will provide physical addresses for all residents of Greater Lomé. It will also assign an address to every entrance opening onto a public road and integrate physical addressing into Togo’s ongoing digital identity initiatives.

The operation will cover approximately 5,000 kilometers of road networks and 538,000 entrances. Of these, 110,000 existing addresses will be updated, while 428,000 new addresses will be created.

The project will then move into a field implementation phase involving the installation of signage displaying door numbers and street names or codes. This stage will be followed by a certification, identification, and official registration phase, during which door numbers will be validated and integrated into the database based on field surveys.

This update comes nearly ten years after the last addressing operation carried out in 2014. According to the DAGL, it is driven by Lomé’s strong population growth, which has led to the development of new infrastructure, as well as by the expansion of digital services, particularly e-commerce, which require a reliable and functional addressing system.

Bassimsouwé Edjam-Etchaki, director of statistical planning at the DAGL, said the updated addressing system will benefit the entire population, notably by simplifying procedures related to access to public services.

The process will actively involve residents, who will be invited to submit their address information through a dedicated digital platform to be established for this purpose.

Since Togo’s independence, three addressing projects have been implemented. The first was carried out in 1998, followed by a second in 2008. The current project began with preparatory work launched in 2022.

Esaïe Edoh

Opticians in Togo have been granted a three-month moratorium to implement clauses of a sector-wide agreement recently signed with the agencies managing Universal Health Insurance (AMU), according to a joint statement from the National Health Insurance Institute (INAM) and the National Social Security Fund (CNSS).

The grace period runs from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2026, and applies both to opticians already under contract who are required to renew their agreements and to those not yet contracted who plan to join the system by signing a formal agreement.

According to AMU administrators, the measure is intended to give eyewear professionals time to implement the new provisions of a partnership signed last November with the Association of Professionals and Practitioners of Optometry and Optics (APPOL).

The agreement between AMU management bodies and APPOL seeks to harmonize professional practices and improve the quality of optical services. It also allows insured individuals to access opticians’ services using their AMU cards.

The Togolese government has launched an online system allowing citizens to request copies of civil registry documents via the government’s Services Publics platform. The pilot phase covers five municipalities: Agoe-Nyive 1, Golfe 1, Ave 2, Zio 2 and Lacs 1.

The system enables users to request copies of birth, marriage and death certificates and to track the processing of their applications in real time. The platform includes a secure interface designed to protect the confidentiality of personal data.

The move is part of the government’s broader strategy to digitalize public services. The Ministry of Energy recently added 29 administrative procedures to the national portal, covering services provided by the CEET, AT2ER and ARSE. Other ministerial departments are expected to join the platform from January 2026.

Territorial Administration Minister Hodabalo Awate and Digital Transformation Minister Cina Lawson reaffirmed their commitment to gradually extend the service to all municipalities nationwide. The aim is to improve administrative efficiency while reducing costs for users.

R.E.D

The nine member countries of the Ouagadougou Partnership are meeting in Lomé from Tuesday, Dec. 16, for three days of talks focused on domestic financing for sexual and reproductive health.

The meeting brings together governments, civil society organizations and community groups with a shared goal: increasing the number of people using family planning services.

The event aims to identify sustainable strategies by drawing on the experience of countries that have made significant progress in this area. Madagascar, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon are presenting financing models that have led to a substantial increase in resources allocated to the sector.

Marie Ba, director of the Ouagadougou Partnership Coordination Unit, stressed the importance of sharing experiences as a way to advance toward greater autonomy and health sovereignty. Togolese Health Minister Jean-Marie Tessi urged governments and the private sector to step up investment in health programs.

“Accelerating domestic financing is a way of affirming that sexual and reproductive health is a national and regional priority,” the minister said. He also drew a direct connection between such investments and gains in economic productivity.

The Ouagadougou Partnership includes Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. Its objectives include reducing social inequalities and strengthening health systems across the region.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s government will launch a national social protection programme on Thursday, targeting more than 700,000 vulnerable people nationwide, authorities said.

The initiative, part of the government’s social policy, is intended to address ongoing economic and social pressures, including rising living costs and growing economic vulnerability.

The programme builds on earlier schemes that disbursed more than 1.1 billion CFA francs to 142,722 beneficiaries between August 2024 and August 2025.

It is supported by development partners, including the World Bank, which, through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), is backing the expansion of cash transfers to extremely poor households.

The strategy relies on national social registries and digital payment platforms to improve targeting and delivery.

The programme has three aims: to strengthen household resilience to economic shocks, reduce extreme poverty, and promote social inclusion.

The official launch will take place at the Kotokoli-Zongo Sports Complex, in the Agoè-Nyivé 4 municipality.

R.E.D

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday approved measures to strengthen its regional security framework at its 68th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Abuja.

The leaders, including Faure Gnassingbé, president of the council of Ministers of Togo, announced plans to create a regional standby force expected to be operational by 2026. The force is projected to include more than 1,000 troops.

The brigade would be deployed to address multiple threats destabilizing the West African region, including violent extremism, unconstitutional changes of government and recurring political instability.

The decision comes amid persistent regional security challenges, notably terrorism and extremism, as well as the management of irregular migration. ECOWAS leaders cited recent attempts at political destabilization in the region, including an incident reported in Benin in recent days.

Beyond security, the summit also reviewed the bloc’s long-term outlook under ECOWAS Vision 2050.

Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to building a community based on shared prosperity, with a focus on advancing a single market, strengthening fiscal coordination and promoting macroeconomic stability.

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