West Africa and The Sahel ended 2023 and is setting off in 2024 with a mix of experiences according to the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel UNOWAS.

The successful conduct of elections in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, which is currently overseeing a transition were some notable achievements.

On the flip side, four countries namely Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea remain under military rule, a setback to the region’s principles of democratic governance.

UNOWAS says this trajectory alongside the growing humanitarian crisis and food insecurity, deaths, and displacements caused by terrorist groups, threaten ECOWAS’s stability.

Speaking Thursday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Leonardo Santos Simão, Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, outlined three key points before the UN Security Council to address the problems.