HON. Haddy Jagne, a female ECOWAS Parliamentarian, says that the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA), is committed to tackling the issues affecting the girl-child and women in Africa.
Jagne, a representative of Gambia, and the first president of the association, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
According to her, some of the ways the association is addressing women issues is through capacity building and mentorship.
“We can impact positively in the development of our communities.
“We are targeting the girl- child and the women in mentoring them to be future decision makers, so that to be more confident.
“And also, you know that in our sub-region the women are not many, especially in electoral processes.
“We are trying to help the girl-child build their capacity so that they will impact positively in their communities.’’
She said that the association would continue to create awareness to increase the level of women participation in the parliament, as it was very low compared to the rest of the world.
Jagne, however, said that the association lacked funds to executive its lofty programmes, as it was not a standing committee of the ECOWAS Parliament.
“It is not a standing committee of the ECOWAS parliament, so we are not getting funding, so far, we beseech on the parliament as well as individuals to carry out our activities,’’ she said.
ECOFEPA was established in 2003, but became operational in 2009 with representatives from 15 ECOWAS countries.
It aims to impact on children and women in the region.
