The official launch of the commemorative activities for the fiftieth anniversary of the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) will take place on March 28, 2023, in Bamako, Mali. The committee was created on September 12, 1973, in response to the major droughts that struck the Sahel in the 1970s. CILSS, founded with the foresight of its founding fathers to promote active solidarity between peoples, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year
It comprises 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. CILSS covers the whole 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 to its technical and financial partners to strengthen the strategic partnership with a view to financing its 2023-2027 work plan, based on its 2050 vision for achieving its new mandate

The official ceremony to launch the commemorative activities for the fiftieth anniversary of CILSS will be held on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at the Azalai Salam Hotel in Bamako, Mali. The event aims to inform public authorities, technical and financial partners, the general public, and the media about the official launch of activities as part of the festivities for this momentous anniversary