In a letter[2] to the UN Secretary-General on 28 January 2016, the Secretary Council requested the Office of the Special Envoy for the Sahel (OSES) and the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) to merge into a single entity, UNOWAS: the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel. The merger intends to craft synergies to better engage with the countries of West Africa and the Sahel.