The new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will make its home in Ghana, a decision announced Sunday during an African Union summit in Niger that celebrated the official launch of the free-trade deal. Actual trading under AfCFTA is expected to begin a year from now and when it does,…
Karen Attiah, the Global Opinions editor for The Washington Post and a Ghanaian American writer, has received the 2019 Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in the United States. She coordinates and edits commentary on global issues from a variety of international writers…
What would it cost to totally eliminate child labor from cocoa production in Ghana? An increase in cocoa price of nearly 47 percent, according to the authors of a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE. The study, from three scientists at the University of Arkansas and Kansas State University…
Malawi on Tuesday became the first African nation to launch a pilot program to administer the world’s first malaria vaccine to children ages 2 and under, according to the World Health Organization. The vaccine known as RTS,S has taken 30 years to develop and so far is the only vaccine…
The cost of remittances for African migrants was the focus of a three-day meeting in Ghana, as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other stakeholders looked at how to improve access. While the money sent home to families in sub-Saharan Africa is on the rise, the cost to transfer…
Africa is leading the way with mobile money accounts, and its sub-Saharan countries are the only region in the world where more than 10 percent of adults have such access. In some places, including Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire, that’s more people than have a traditional bank account. That’s according to…
A police officer from Ghana has been named the United Nations Female Police Officer of the Year, in a ceremony held in New York by the UN’s peacekeeping department. Phyllis Ama Tebuah Osei, who is serving with United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), was chosen for her work in Jubaland….
Britain’s Prince Charles, speaking in Ghana during his three-nation tour of West Africa, praised the progress of the nation while addressing the painful history of its colonial past. “The histories of our two nations are, I know, closely intertwined, and while today we enjoy shared opportunity, we can never forget…
As part of World Mental Health Day, the Human Rights Watch organization is shining a spotlight on countries where the practice of shackling those with real or perceived mental health conditions continues, including Ghana. Officials there promised last year to end the cruelty and said it was illegal to put…
First Lady Melania Trump of the United States begins her four-nation tour of Africa with events in Ghana Tuesday. She is expected to meet with Rebecca Akufo Addo, wife of Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Addo, to help promote initiatives for children’s education, and maternal and child health. Trump, the wife…
Funeral services for Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, are set to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday in the auditorium of the Accra International Conference Center, where visitors have gathered for two days to pay their final respects. The 80-year-old Annan died on August 18 in Switzerland following…
All eyes have been on British Prime Minister Theresa May during her visit to Johannesburg, where she signed a joint statement on trade with South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini – but on Wednesday, it’s German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s turn to visit the continent. Merkel begins a three-nation tour…
Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations and the first black African to lead the UN, has died in Switzerland. The Kofi Annan Foundation announced the 80-year-old Ghanaian died on Saturday after a short illness, with his wife, Nane, and three children by his side. “Kofi Annan…
The United States has issued a new warning to Ghana over its lack of compliance with removing citizens who are under deportation orders. Two years ago, the U.S. began cracking down on countries – several African nations among them – after conservative lawmakers in Washington called for the application of…
This week Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid will be awarded the 2018 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize during World Press Freedom Day, hosted this year by Ghana. As with the many recipients before him, he won’t see the conference sessions or attend the gala dinner in Accra. The Egyptian, known…