The Sahel states of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, are officially leaving the regional economic bloc ECOWAS on Wednesday, after 50 years.The withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States,

The Sahel region is a geographical belt in Africa that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, between the Sahara Desert in the north and the Savannah in the south. It is characterised by challenging environmental crises and conflicts.

A joint force of 5,000 troops from military-led neighbours Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali will soon deploy in their troubled central Sahel region, Niger's defence chief said on state television.

The official departure from the West African body on Tuesday comes after Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali last year formed their own alliance, the Confederation of Sahel States.

Niger has become the first African country to eliminate river blindness, a parasitic disease that is the second-leading cause of blindness in the world, the WHO said Thursday.

The three junta-led West African nations withdrawal is the culmination of a yearlong process during which the grouping tried to avert its unprecedented disintegration.

"The rise of junta rule in the Sahel represents a complex interplay between decolonization and destabilization."

A source who asked for anonymity said Emptech is not involved in the production of the new passport for the three Sahel states.

In response, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced their exit last January and accused ECOWAS of failing to safeguard member states and of aligning too closely with foreign powers.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have officially left West Africa’s main political and trade group ECOWAS after more than a year of diplomatic tension.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger accused a regional bloc known as ECOWAS of having double standards in punishing their military juntas. Negotiations failed to change their minds.