Given Al Franken’s recent seating as the 60th Democratic vote in the Senate, it’s a numerical certainty that a nominee approved by Democrats will be confirmed. Unless there’s a violent crime in her past, Judge Sotomayor will be confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Although it is unlikely that the President took it in, Ghana also has a thriving club scene complete with some of the continent’s best music.Īs confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor begin before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, it’s probably best to keep some perspective on the significance of the proceedings. Restaurants and hotels are springing up and economic growth is steady. The country looks and feels as if it’s booming.
It’s a sign of smart continental politics with a clear message: this administration values democratic values above all else.ĭuring the time I spent in Ghana, I could see the national growth that was occurring each and every day. Rather than giving in to the temptation of having a homecoming in Kenya, Obama chose the West African nation as his first stop. President’s visit to Ghana this past weekend was a symbolic move that now resonates across the continent. That strong embrace of democratic ideals has not been lost on the Obama administration. Everywhere we traveled, Ghanaians were debating the challenges facing their nation and reveling in their increasingly vibrant and stable democracy. Kwesi Botchwey, the country’s minister of finance in the eighties and early-nineties. Presidential elections were under way, and I was lucky to be traveling with an aspiring candidate, Dr. There was a democratic buzz in the air the last time I traveled to Ghana. And amidst President Obama’s focus on Ghana’s democratic progress and good governance, it could easily be forgotten that there are still so many Ghanaians struggling to survive.Īssistant Professor in Public Heath, Columbia University
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For example, Ghana is the only sub-Saharan African country on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of cutting hunger in half by 2015.Īs I reflect this week on the visit, I wonder what windows of opportunity it offers for the nearly half of Ghanaians surviving on less than US $1 a day. Now, my 13-year-old daughter had the chance to see the first African-American president visit her nation, and her excitement makes me proud of the progress our country has made. Accra is still abuzz and my colleagues and neighbors are talking about it constantly.īorn and raised in Ghana, I remember the awe I felt as a child when Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1961. He highlighted our nation's progress, most recently our peaceful, democratic election. There was palpable excitement here in Ghana as President Obama visited this past weekend. The pond is the only source of water for this remote farming village of 600 people.Īssociate director, World Vision in Ghana People fetching water from a dirty pond in Kpalang village, Ghana. The villagers are now notably stronger and healthier that they have access to clean water.
Chakun, Ghana had the highest rate of Guinea worm cases in its district before it got a new borehole.
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