The ECOWAS Community Development Programme (CDP) is set to mobilize about 21 billion U.S Dollars to enable them finance over 200 projects that cuts across various sectors of the economy in the West African Sub-region.

The projects are part of a long-term development strategy to be implemented over a five-year period.

Sectors to benefit from the projects include transport infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health, education development, capacity building among other areas.

Dr Guevera Yao, Coordinator of the ECOWAS- CDP made this known at a meeting of the Network of Economic Journalists in West Africa.

The meeting brought journalists from 15 countries in the sub-region to review and validate the communication plan of an impending High-level Conference and Roundtable to be held in Cote D’ Ivoire later this year.

Dr Yao said the ECOWAS -CDP already has seven billion dollars in their coffers and need the 21 billion to enable them to holistically implement the five-year development plan.

He explained that the projects to be implemented are proposals brought to the CDP through a survey conducted among inter-governmental organizations, non-state actors and media networks.

He further explained that if the ECOWAS CDP gets the needed funds to implement the projects it will enhance the overall economic development in the sub-region by increasing the Gross Domestic Products as well as reduce poverty.

Mrs Sena Siaw-Boateng, Director, Africa and Regional Integration Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who chaired the meeting, earlier noted that the Network of Economic Journalists had an important role to play in the resource mobilization effort.

While pledging government’s support for the meeting, she expressed believe that the meeting would be a success and urged the participants to develop a good action plan for the regional media network.

The ECOWAS CDP programme was formulated in 2008 to help with the vision of transforming the ECOWAS from an organization where heads of states meet to an organization where people or citizens play a vital role.