ECOWAS Standby Capacity (ESC)
The KAIPTC is one of three institutions designated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a regional Centre of Excellence for the delivery of training and research in the areas of conflict prevention, management and peace building. The KAIPTC has to date offered over 230 courses in diverse aspects of peace support operations for over 11,000 military, police and civilian personnel. Based in Ghana, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) provides training and research in peacekeeping and peace operations. Established in 1998, it formally began operations in 2002. KAIPTC commenced its first full annual training and education cycle in March 2004, and has since expanded its curriculum to over twenty different courses.