UNDP urges a unified response against violent extremism.

UNDP Resident Representative Dr Angela Lusigi has advocated for a well-coordinated response to violent extremism in West Africa.

"As the landscape of violent extremism in West Africa becomes more complex, we must move quickly from analysis, strategy development, and siloed interventions to accelerating a well-coordinated response," she said.

She made the statement in Accra at the launch of a project on “Strengthening Community Resilience and Engagement to Prevent and Respond to Violent Extremism in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo”.

The project is a collaboration between UNDP and the Danish government.

The project seeks to prevent and address the immediate localised drivers of radicalization leading to violent extremism in target communities in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo while providing support to strengthening the ‘Infrastructures for Peace’, namely mechanisms for early warning and early response at the local level.

The project, among others, includes sub-objectives of enhancing systems and practises for early warning and response to violent extremism in target places and increasing the socio-economic resilience of at-risk youth, women, and other vulnerable groups in target locations.

She urged for a more integrated and comprehensive sub-regional response that went beyond a securitized approach to address rising drivers of conflict by increasing community resilience and improving early warning and preventive efforts.

That, she noted, had emphasised UNDP’s reaction in helping Ghana and its surrounding countries through its Atlantic Corridor Initiative, which covered Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo.

Dr Lusigi said UNDP had supported Ghana to enhance awareness through a landmark study on “Vulnerability to the Threat of Radicalization towards Violent Extremism in Northern Ghana”.

“In partnership with the Ministry of National Security through the National Fusion Centre we developed a vulnerability index and provided real insights into the nexus between environmental, social, and economic vulnerabilities and radicalization,” she said.

According to research, 32.6 percent of youth aged 15-24 in Ghana's Northern Regions are unemployed.

They are also vulnerable to localised wars, transnational organised crime, cybercrime, and farmer-herder disputes.

She noted that the escalating insecurity and instability in the region were already leading to displacement and contributing to increased multi-dimensional poverty as well as structural and gender-based inequities.

According to the Global Terrorism Index, the Sahel region is now the hub of terrorism.

In 2022, the Sahel region was responsible for more terrorism-related deaths than South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa combined.

Deaths in the Sahel region will account for 43% of global totals in 2022, up from 1% in 2007.

Mr. Tom Nrring, Denmark's Ambassador in Ghana, stated that UNDP and Denmark were willing to collaborate with coastal states to maintain stability and combat violent extremism.

He stated that Denmark had been a long-term partner to Ghana, and that Danida had accomplished much and contributed to considerable infrastructure development in the North of Ghana, such as water, roads, and bridges.

"As Ghana became a middle-income country, Danish cooperation transitioned from traditional development assistance to technical, commercial, and political cooperation," he explained.

The UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Charles Abani, stated that the UNDP has 25 agencies and institutions in Ghana focused on inclusive economic reform, equal access to services, and other issues.

He urged for greater collaboration across efforts to combat violent extremism in the region by boosting border infrastructure and cyber security.

The stakeholders stated their willingness to help the project in its efforts to prevent terrorist activity in the region.