Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau have called for stronger laws, institutions and financing to improve waste management and accelerate the transition to circular economies in Africa.
The call was made on Tuesday at the final regional closing workshop on the environmentally sounder and safer waste management frameworks in Africa project, held in Abuja and hosted by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
Innocent Barikor, NESREA director general, said the workshop was an opportunity to validate the project’s findings and develop practical plans for implementation, resource mobilisation and long-term sustainability.
Barikor said the recommendations would support policy and legislative reforms, strengthen institutional capacity, promote gender inclusion and protect informal waste workers.
He identified inadequate infrastructure, insufficient funding and limited public awareness as continuing obstacles to effective waste management across Africa.
Yeama-Mimi Sobba-Stephens, Sierra Leone’s deputy minister of environment, said rapid urbanisation, population growth and changing consumption patterns were putting pressure on waste services in Freetown and other municipalities.
She said Sierra Leone had identified the need for a detailed legal framework covering waste prevention, reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and environmentally sound disposal.
Valentina Ricca, UNEP legal specialist, said the project, which began in 2023, was implemented with UN Habitat and focused on Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau.
The participating countries are expected to turn the project’s recommendations into national policies, legislation and practical waste management systems.
