The West Africa conference was the second in a series of three sub-regional workshops that followed the regional conference held in Dakar in June 2001. The objective of this sub-regional conference was to finalize the plan of action for West African countries to fulfill their commitment in eliminating lead in gasoline by 2005.

It was organized jointly by the Executive Council of Urban Transport in Dakar (CETUD) and the Initiative on Air Quality in Sub-Saharan African cities headed by the World Bank.