Obama Visits Ghana

On July 10-11, 2009, President Obama made his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa, stopping in Ghana following the G8 Summit in Italy. As the third consecutive U.S. President to visit Ghana, this stop offered an opportunity to show the world a different side of Africa-Ghana repeatedly tops the lists of African countries that are reducing poverty and improving lives through economic growth and a commitment to democracy, a trend that is growing across Africa. Here are a few key Ghana stats:

• Ghanaian citizens have participated in five consecutive peaceful transitions of power (See an overview Ghanaian elections here.)
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• In 2004, the Ghanaian government announced the elimination of school fees for primary schools. This coupled with a new school feeding program, increased enrollment rates for primary school boys from 60% in 2004-2005 to 84% in 2007-2008, and girls from 58% to 82%.

• Ghana currently receives funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and is one of the 15 focus countries in the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). PMI's work in Ghana aims to distribute more than one million bed nets, spray 100,000 houses with pesticides that kill mosquitoes carrying malaria, and to provide 1.2 million doses of malaria medicine to treat children under five.

• Ghana has a 5-year, $547 million compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), focused on agriculture, rural development and infrastructure improvement. During President George W. Bush's visit to Ghana in 2008, then President Kafuor renamed a main highway in Accra (a project of the MCC) the "George W. Bush Highway."

• Ghana has experienced 4-5% annual growth over the past 20 years, and has nearly halved its poverty rate since 1992, putting it on track to achieve the first Millennium Development Goal by 2015.

• In 2007, Ghana was the United States' tenth largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth largest exporter to the U.S. (Compare even more key development stats between Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. here).

But Ghana is certainly not the only success story in Africa. The governments of South Africa, Zambia, and Rwanda have all seen recent peaceful, democratic elections. Over the past two years, Rwanda, Zambia and Ethiopia have cut malaria deaths in half, due to the massive distribution of bed nets and anti-malaria drugs. And in the past 10 years, a stunning 34 million additional African children have enrolled in primary school. President Obama's visit to Ghana offered the perfect moment to highlight these success stories, as these countries provide concrete examples of how targeted smart aid, coupled with good governance, have led to longer and better lives. The trip also provided an opportunity for President Obama to encourage efforts that support improved governance and empower African citizens to hold leaders accountable.

Read ONE's full policy brief on Obama's trip to Ghana here.