WADPN Urges ECOWAS and West African Governments to Uphold Rights of Marginalised Communities
The West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN) has called on ECOWAS and member states, particularly Ghana, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso, to prioritise human rights and public health in policies affecting people who use drugs, sex workers, and persons with diverse sexual orientations (PWDSO).
According to WADPN, the continued criminalisation of these groups has fuelled cycles of poverty, stigma, disease, and violence across the region.
The network warned that punitive drug laws in Ghana and Nigeria, for instance, have worsened prison overcrowding, increased HIV prevalence, and pushed vulnerable people further away from healthcare services.
The late Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General and chair of the West Africa Commission on Drugs, emphasised that drug use should be treated as a public health issue rather than a criminal one.
WADPN echoed this call, noting that international examples such as Portugal and Uruguay demonstrate that decriminalisation, coupled with harm reduction measures, leads to better health outcomes and lower crime rates.
On sex work, the organisation highlighted Senegal’s regulated framework as the only comprehensive model in West Africa. Despite its limitations, the system has reduced HIV transmission and improved access to healthcare.
In contrast, sex workers in Ghana, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso continue to face arbitrary arrests, harassment, and exclusion from legal protections.
WADPN also raised concerns about rising hostility towards PWDSO. Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, Ghana’s proposed anti-human rights legislation, and Burkina Faso’s lack of legal safeguards were cited as examples of institutionalised discrimination that contradict the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Resolution 275 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The network urged ECOWAS to move beyond commitments to drug control and security by adopting a regional human rights and health strategy for key populations.
It recommended supporting member states in drug law reform, scaling up harm reduction, monitoring abuses against sex workers and PWDSO, and ensuring accountability to international treaties.
“Decriminalisation is not just a legal question; it is a matter of life and death,” the statement read. WADPN further appealed to governments to amend repressive laws, expand community-led health services, reform policing practices, and ensure the active participation of affected groups in policy-making.
The organisation stressed that West Africa cannot afford to be left behind in the global shift towards justice, health, and dignity for all.
Credit: Kekeli K. Blamey
