President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has highlighted several critical issues at the opening of the 2024 Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum (KAPS Forum) in Accra.
He addressed the declining population in advanced countries, which has led to increased demand for foreign workers and resulted in a mass exodus of essential personnel such as doctors and nurses.
Additionally, he emphasized the detrimental effects of rural-urban drift on essential manpower and the depletion of the food basket.
President Akufo-Addo expressed concern over insecurity in the ECOWAS region, citing issues such as violent extremism, democratic reversals, and recent withdrawals from ECOWAS by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
He also noted that, the political turmoil in Senegal and its impact on regional security and migration crises.
President Akufo-Addo, along with other ECOWAS leaders, pledged to find amicable solutions to these challenges.
Maj Gen Richard Addo Gyane, the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre, highlighted increasing migration as a major problem in West Africa, attributing it to porous borders and a lack of understanding of ECOWAS protocols on movement.
The KAPS Forum aims to facilitate robust engagement on peace, security, and migration issues affecting Africa and honor the legacy of Kofi Annan.
Over two hundred delegates, including former African Heads of State and Government, high-level diplomats, representatives from security sector institutions, policy and research think tanks, development partners, business leaders, journalists, youth activists, and women’s groups, participated in this year’s forum.
The theme of the 2024 Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum is “Migration and Societal Resilience in a Multipolar World Order: Addressing Conflicts and Building Peace in Africa.
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