The CILSS: 50 Years of Commitment to the Sahelian and West African Populations.
Official launch of commemorative activities for the fiftieth anniversary of CILSS, March 28, 2023 in Bamako, Mali: The Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) was created on September 12, 1973, following the great droughts that struck the Sahel in the 1970s. The CILSS was born of the farsightedness of its founding fathers out of concerns for active solidarity between peoples, is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its creation this year.
Today, it is composed of thirteen member states: Burkina Faso, Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Chad and Togo. Two states, Sudan and the Central African Republic, are waiting to join. Today, CILSS covers the whole of ECOWAS area Mauritania and Chad, i.e. 17 countries.
The celebration of this fiftieth anniversary throughout 2023, through a series of large-scale events, will be a tremendous opportunity for exchange, sharing and communication, to highlight the significant scientific knowledge acquired by the institution, for the benefit of its member states and its valiant populations.
This celebration will also be an opportunity for CILSS to make a high-level plea towards its technical and financial partners to enhance the strategic partnership with a view to financing its 2023-2027 work plan, based on its 20150 vision for achieving its new mandate.
The official ceremony to launch the commemorative activities of the fiftieth anniversary of CILSS will be held on Tuesday March 28, 2023 at the Azalai Salam Hotel in Bamako, Mali, and aims to inform the public authorities, technical and financial partners, the general public and the media of the official launch of activities as part of the festivities of this fiftieth anniversary.