Ghana: Obama pledges $63b to fight diseases

  1. Posted on Saturday 11 July 2009 - 16:42
    Dolphyne
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    Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne and Kent Mensah, AfricaNews editors in Accra, Ghana Photo: Ghanaweb
    United States President, Barack Obama, has pledged $63 billion to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and polio on the African continent. He said: "We will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won't confront illnesses in isolation" Obama was addressing Ghana's parliament on Saturday.
    obama
    “We will invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children. As we partner on behalf of a healthier future, we must also stop the destruction that comes not from illness, but from human beings,” Obama said.

    As he speaks at the Ghana’s International Conference Centre, many Ghanaians and Africans as a whole watched on with hope and ecstasy and visibly impatient to hear what the first Black-American president of the United States has for the continent.

    The US president said the commitment of America and the West must be measured by more than the dollars they spend and must also be looked at in the form of partnerships in building the capacity for transformational change.

    He said: “So I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world — as partners with America on behalf of the future that we want for all our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual responsibility …….”

    Obama also welcomed the steps that are being taken by organizations like the African Union and ECOWAS to better resolve conflicts, keep the peace, and support those in need. He therefore encouraged the vision of a strong, regional security architecture that can bring effective, transnational force to bear when needed.

    He praised Ghana and Botswana for their democratic credentials and their effort at improving their economies.

    Read Obama's full speech here

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