The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s commendation of Ghana as a leader in food security in Africa ahead of her visit to the country on Friday is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield has praised Ghana as a leader in food security in Africa ahead of her visit to the country on Friday.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield is currently on a three-nation trip to Uganda, Ghana and Cape Verde. She is expected to discuss the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine, specifically the impact it’s having on global food security tomorrow in Accra.
Before she departed for her first stop in Uganda today, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield told a U.S. Department of State Africa Regional Media Hub Briefing, that all three countries face serious food security situations because of the significant rise in the cost of food and energy.
However, she said Ghana had been a leader in dealing with it and she will be visiting a market, meeting farmers and going to a grain factory in the country “to see how we can help them improve on their production.”
“It’s about how we partner with African countries to address the long-term consequences of food insecurity, how we work with these countries to bring their own resources to the table,” she said.
“Ghana, for example, has been a leader in food security. As the – as a Feed the Future partner for more than a decade, they have been joining initiatives and performing better than most of their peers on the continent in their agricultural sector. So we will be looking at how countries can bring their own resources, how Africa broadly can start to develop the capacity to address its food needs so that it is not dependent.
“So what I’m looking to do on the continent of Africa is talk about solutions, to talk about how our relationships and our partnerships can help Africa get to better – a better place in feeding its own people, in addressing the crisis on the ground, and ensuring that prosperity is available to all the people across the continent of Africa.”
The newspaper says that UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC), a member-based trade association that promotes bilateral trade between the UK and Ghana, has donated GH¢50,000.00 to support the establishment of a clinical trials unit at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC).
The funds were raised during the UKGCC’s recreation of the first Royal Ascot Ladies Day Experience Event.
At a short ceremony to present the donation, the Board Chairman of UKGCC, Anthony Pile, who is also the Founder of Blue Skies, said “we are hugely impressed with Lucy and her team. Embarking on this clinical trials unit project, I think, will make a difference not just to Ghana but frankly to all of us within the ECOWAS region.
“It is something that the UKGCC feels very strongly about; supporting all elements, all aspects of advancing medical progress and I think this just illustrates the importance to both parties of how we feel about the work UGMC is doing.
“I also feel that UKGCC is doing a great job now reaching out to those very many elements of Ghanaian industrial, social, and civil society to make the progress that is needed so importantly within Ghana,” he stated.
For her part, the Chairperson of the UGMC Medical and Scientific Research Centre Fundraising Committee, Lucy Brimpong Ofori-Ayeh expressed her gratitude, on behalf of the Board of Directors, Management, and Staff of the UGMC.
The support, she remarked, “will go a long way to make a dream come true”.
She explained that most of the clinical trials that were being carried out for new medicines were done elsewhere, not in Africa, nor with African subjects and the genetic makeup of the trial participants were different from Africa.
The Ghanaian Times reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he is optimistic about the country’s economic recovery and its future, despite the current challenges the nation is going through.
Speaking at a luncheon with senior citizens in the country on the occasion of Founders’ Day in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said the country’s economy would bounce back stronger than ever before.
He said the “can do” spirit of Ghanaians which led to the country’s independence from British colonial rule would guide the government’s efforts to address the economic challenges
“Since the attainment of independence 65 years ago, we have bemoaned the fact that our nation has not lived up to its vast potential and countries, especially those in South East Asia such as Korea and Malaysia which gained their independence at the same time as we did have outstripped us in terms of development.
“In spite of the many obstacles that we have had to surmount including prolonged periods of instability and military rule, fuelled by several coups d’état, one thing I continue to be proud of is the can-do spirit of the Ghanaian and our determination not to be backed down by events and allow the circumstances and challenges of today to shape our collective future,” President Akufo-Addo said.
The President reiterated the position of his government that recent challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has compromised the country’s economy.
His government, he noted, had however, outlined a series of measures including “seeking the assistance of the International Monetary Fund in the short term, to help repair our finances”.
“I am confident that we will revive and revitalise the economy and put our nation back on the path of rapid economic growth, a scenario we had become accustomed to in the last three immediate years before the pandemic struck,” President Akufo-Addo said.
“This is a solemn pledge I am making to you. I remain resolutely optimistic about Ghana’s future which I continue to believe is bright,” he added.
The newspaper says that the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, has said that Ghana has recorded over 400,000 international arrivals for the first half of this year.
This, he said, was against the target of one million tourists expected for the whole of 2022.
The Minister disclosed this during the launch of this year’s ‘December in Ghana’ event in Accra yesterday.
The ‘December in Ghana’ aimed to promote tourism and make Ghana the global destination for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Dr Awal said, considering the fact that the second half of each year was the peak period for international arrivals, the target of the one million tourists would be achieved.
“Events such as Afro Nation, Afrochella, and Essence among others would help drive tourists to Ghana,” he added.
He expressed delight over the significant contributions the ‘Year of Return and Destination Ghana’ had made to the country’s tourism drive as record number of tourists were visiting the country, adding “In 2019, 1.1 million visitors came to Ghana following the launch of the ‘Year of Return.”
He revealed that the National Museum which was recently rehabilitated and modernised had also recorded over 14,000 visitors in just six weeks against a figure of 12,874 for the whole of 2015 prior to its closure in 2016.
Dr Awal indicated that Ghana’s tourism sector had the potential to contribute significantly to national economic transformation, adding “the country is not only gifted with rich and diverse culture but also home to some of the best flora and fauna in the most exquisite ecotourism sites of the world.”
GIK/APA