The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO was established in 1960 through Resolution 2.31 of the UNESCO General Conference. It operates as a functionally autonomous body within UNESCO, with the mandate to:

“…promote international cooperation and coordinate programmes in research, services, and capacity building to enhance understanding of the nature and resources of the ocean and coastal areas; and to apply that knowledge for better management, sustainable development, protection of the marine environment, and informed decision-making processes by its Member States.”

Within the first year of its establishment, six African countries (Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia) became Member States of the Commission. This number grew significantly as more African nations gained independence, culminating in the current total of 37 African Member States—representing nearly one-quarter of the Commission’s overall membership.

The IOC’s Regional Committee for the Central and Eastern Atlantic (IOCEA) was created in 1984 by the Executive Council during its 17th Session, through Resolution EC-XVII.7. The IOC Project Office for IOCEA operated out of the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) in Lagos, Nigeria, from 2002 to 2004.

The IOC’s Regional Committee for the Western Indian Ocean (IOCWIO) was established earlier, in 1979, by the Assembly during its 11th Session through Resolution XI-9, under the name “Regional Committee for the Cooperative Investigations in the North and Central Western Indian Ocean (IOCINCWIO).” At the fifth session of IOCINCWIO, the committee’s name was updated to IOCWIO. The IOC Project Office for IOCWIO operated from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) in Mombasa, Kenya, from 2000 to 2004, before relocating to the UNESCO Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya, where it remained from 2004 to 2009.

The Regional Committees were instrumental in coordinating and facilitating the development and implementation of IOC activities in their respective regions. Through these committees, the IOC actively participated in regional programmes, contributing to the enhancement of scientific and technical capacities, institutional strengthening, the installation of observational systems (e.g., sea-level monitoring stations across African coastal and island states), and the establishment of structures and programmes to address regional priorities.

However, the closure of the two project offices—IOCEA in Lagos (2004) and IOCWIO in Nairobi (2009)—reduced the Commission's capacity to collaborate with national institutions and regional organizations. This significantly hampered the effective implementation of IOC activities in the region.