The 9th Regional Conference of the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF) will take place in Accra (Ghana), 7th to 10th November, 2022

“Governments and Industries working together to enhance oil spill preparedness, response and cooperation”

Organised at the end of each biennium, the GI WACAF regional conference is a key event in the life cycle of the GI WACAF Project. On the 1^st of December 2021, a half-day webinar was held to close the 2020-2021 biennium. The 9^th Regional Conference, to launch the new biennium (2023 – 2024), will be held in Accra (Ghana) from Monday 7^th to Thursday 10^th of November 2022.

The main objectives of the conference are to address the challenges of oil spill preparedness and response in the region, to review the progress achieved since the last Regional Conference and to foster discussions to set the strategic priorities for the next biennium (2023-2024).

The success of the GI WACAF Project relies heavily on the involvement of the countries. Thus, delegates will be invited to share their experiences and good practices, to identify priorities to strengthen spill response preparedness and potential need for support from the GI WACAF for the next biennium. A panel of international experts will be present to facilitate the discussions.

The Conference is organized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and IPIECA, the global Oil & Gas industry association for advancing environmental and social performance, in close collaboration with the Government of Ghana.

The conference will bring together representatives from the 22[1] African partner countries of the GI WACAF project, from the Oil & Gas industry and from GI WACAF partners.

[1] Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.