By Muhammad Amaan
A Joint Committee of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) Parliament has proposed the adoption of enabling laws that would transform healthcare and education within the subregion.
This is contained in a Draft Report produced at the end of a delocalised meeting of the parliament’s Joint Committee on Saturday in Conakry, the Guinean capital city.
The joint committee comprises the parliament’s standing committees on Health, Education, Science, Culture, Telecommunications, Information Technology, Industry and Private Sector.
The delocalised meeting, which was held from September 3-7, had as its theme: “Promoting Health Services and Education in West Africa: The Role of the ECOWAS Parliament.”
According to the draft report, the parliamentarians (MPs) should make laws on education and health services that are designed to align national legislation with the subregional bloc’s provisions.
The report notes the progress so far made, and the challenges confronting West Africa’s healthcare and education sectors, and proposes incorporating the provisions of ECOWAS on these sectors into national legislation.
It also recommends that MPs should engage in aggressive advocacy to create awareness on the challenges of health services and education in their respective countries.
The report recommends that MPs should also contribute to behavioural change communications among the community’s population to promote healthcare and education.
This, it says, is to enable them to make significant contributions to the promotion of robust education and health policies across the West African subregion.
The report is subject to the consideration of the ECOWAS Parliament and the Authority of the subregion’s Heads of State and Government.
“The Joint Committee recommends that MPs should promote health and education as a fundamental right for all social groups, and ensure the internalisation of international, continental, and regional instruments.
“The committee stresses the need for community MPs to undertake awareness-raising, education, and information campaigns for the benefit of the local population.
“This is particularly in rural areas where school enrolment, access to health facilities and telecommunications technologies remain low.
“As part of their legislative role, MPs are called upon to propose or vote on bills designed to bring national legislation in line with community provisions.
“They should ensure the making of laws that are favourable to the promotion of health services and education in their member states,” the draft report reads in part.
The parliamentarians also propose the setting up of innovative financing strategies for funding and promoting healthcare and education across West Africa.
The report, therefore, proposes that member states devote 15 per cent of their national budgets to health toward ensuring that community budgets align with the commitments made in the 2021 Abuja Declaration.
