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Abstract
This paper dwelt on the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenge of a coordinated regional response to disaster management in the ECOWAS region. Disasters and emergencies are ever-present realities of human existence. As such, countries are not just to anticipate disasters and emergencies from time to time, but they are also supposed to be prepared to respond to them. However, the problem is that no matter how prepared these countries are individually for the disasters and emergencies, the scope and impact often overwhelm them, hence the need for a coordinated collaborative effort at regional and international basis. The COVID-19 pandemic is turning out to be a major defining health emergency of the 21st century with its spread across almost all the countries of the world. While different countries and regions of the world are working out integrated, coordinated collaborative responses to the crisis, the Economic Community of West African States sub-region has not been able to build the required synergy among its member states in their response. This lack of coordinated a collaborative effort on the part of ECOWAS has been visible in the indiscriminate border closures and openings as well as in the disorganized operations of its agencies like the West African Examination Council. Adopting contextual approaches, the paper concludes that ECOWAS must strengthen its structures to be able to serve as a centre for coordination and collaboration for the member states in times of crises and emergencies. Keywords: Regional Response, Disaster Management, Collaborative Efforts, Synergy