The ECOWAS Commission has warned that the number of people internally displaced in West Africa due to the combined effects of climate change could reach nearly 32 million by 2050.
The Commission said more than two million people were already displaced in 2024 by natural disasters linked to climate change, while more than seven million people were affected by flooding across the region.
The figures were contained in opening remarks delivered on behalf of ECOWAS Commission President General Birame Diop by Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Nassirou Bako-Arifari, at the joint opening of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Second 2026 Parliamentary Seminar in Accra on Tuesday, September 22.
Prof. Bako-Arifari said the combined effects of climate change and other sources of insecurity and vulnerability had resulted in more than 12 million internally displaced people in West and Central Africa between 2025 and 2026, with women and children accounting for 80% of them.
He said the projections required urgent action from policymakers, particularly because 2050 is also the target year for the ECOWAS Vision 2050.
The Commission has called for stronger climate-responsive legislation, increased climate financing, improved early warning and early action systems, sustainable management of natural resources, and greater participation of women and young people in building climate resilience.