Strengthening Women Economic Justice in West and Central Africa: Dataphyte Foundation and Christian Aid Hold Inception Workshop

Across West and Central Africa, rising debt obligations and fiscal pressures are placing increasing demands on government resources, affecting spending on healthcare, education and other essential services. Women, particularly those in informal and vulnerable employment, face additional economic challenges yet remain underrepresented in decision making on taxation, public spending and other fiscal policies that affect their lives. Addressing these challenges requires credible evidence that captures people's economic experiences and informs more inclusive and accountable policies.

To advance this effort, Dataphyte Foundation, in partnership with the Christian Aid, is implementing a policy advocacy project themed “Mobilising Data for Economic Justice Advocacy and Reforms in West and Central Africa,” with focus in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On 12 October 2026, the partners held an inception workshop commencing the beginning of the project and addressed implementation responsibilities, research priorities, stakeholder engagement and the regional advocacy strategy, including how evidence from the five countries can inform regional economic policy decisions.

During the workshop, Temitope Fashola, Head of Impact at Christian Aid West & Central Africa (WCA), emphasised the importance of partnership, noting that policy influencing is a long-term process that requires connecting local evidence to regional and global advocacy.  Additionally, Abdulahi Adebayo, Programme Manager at Dataphyte Foundation, presented the programme's objectives, research approach and planned activities for its first phase of the project. He highlighted the two thematic pillars, including, Women's Economic Justice and Debt, Fiscal Space and Economic Justice, and explained how the comparative evidence will inform advocacy at national and regional levels.

He outlined the two-tier research approach, with Nigeria and Sierra Leone serving as the primary research countries, where citizen-generated evidence will be collected through surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. In Burkina Faso, Burundi and the DRC, the research will rely mainly on existing evidence and remote interviews with relevant stakeholders.

Discussions also addressed the importance of engaging regional institutions and strengthening the participation of women-led organisations, civil society groups, media, and other underrepresented actors in economic policy processes. The programme seeks to ensure that research findings are used not only for regional advocacy but also by country partners to advance economic justice within their respective contexts.

With the first phase commencing in October 2026, Dataphyte Foundation and Christian Aid aim to establish a credible regional evidence base and strengthen networks for continued advocacy towards more inclusive, accountable and gender-responsive fiscal policies.