Education Ministers commit to HIV&AIDS prevention The Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is one of Africa's
most influential inter-governmental organizations. It originally
seeked to promote regional development through economic and
diplomatic cooperation among its member states. The organization
was created when representatives of 15 countries—Benin, Burkina
Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra
Leone, and Togo—signed the Treaty of Lagos on May 28, 1975. Cape
Verde joined ECOWAS in 1978 as its 16th member. Although it
formally withdrew from the organisation in 2002, Mauritania
remains a strong partner in the process of accelerating the
education sector response to HIV&AIDS. Conscious of the role
education can play in sub-regional integration and development
processes, ECOWAS political leaders have initiated consultations
with partners. The first meeting of Education Ministers held on
24 and 25 September 2002 i