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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release July 11, 2009
Page Two
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO THE GHANAIAN PARLIAMENT
Accra International Conference Center
Accra, Ghana
12:40 P.M. GMT
THE PRESIDENT: Now, America can also do more to
promote trade and investment. Wealthy nations must
open our doors to goods and services from Africa in
a meaningful way. That will be a commitment of my
administration. And where there is good governance,
we can broaden prosperity through public-private
partnerships that invest in better roads and
electricity; capacity-building that trains people to
grow a business; financial services that reach not
just the cities but also the poor and rural areas.
This is also in our own interests -- for if people
are lifted out of poverty and wealth is created in
Africa, guess what? New markets will open up for our
own goods. So it's good for both.
One area that holds out both undeniable peril and
extraordinary promise is energy. Africa gives off
less greenhouse gas than any other part of the
world, but it is the most threatened by climate
change. A warming planet will spread disease, shrink
water resources, and deplete crops, creating
conditions that produce more famine and more
conflict. All of us -- particularly the developed
world -- have a responsibility to slow these trends
-- through mitigation, and by changing the way that
we use energy. But we can also work with Africans to
turn this crisis into opportunity.
Together, we can partner on behalf of our planet and
prosperity, and help countries increase access to
power while skipping -- leapfrogging the dirtier
phase of development. Think about it: Across Africa,
there is bountiful wind and solar power; geothermal
energy and biofuels. From the Rift Valley to the
North African deserts; from the Western coasts to
South Africa's crops -- Africa's boundless natural
gifts can generate its own power, while exporting
profitable, clean energy abroad.
These steps are about more than growth numbers on a
balance sheet. They're about whether a young person
with an education can get a job that supports a
family; a farmer can transfer their goods to market;
an entrepreneur with a good idea can start a
business. It's about the dignity of work; it's about
the opportunity that must exist for Africans in the
21st century.
Just as governance is vital to opportunity, it's
also critical to the third area I want to talk
about: strengthening public health.
In recent years, enormous progress has been made in
parts of Africa. Far more people are living
productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the drugs
they need. I just saw a wonderful clinic and
hospital that is focused particularly on maternal
health. But too many still die from diseases that
shouldn't kill them. When children are being killed
because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in
childbirth, then we know that more progress must be
made.
Yet because of incentives -- often provided by donor
nations -- many African doctors and nurses go
overseas, or work for programs that focus on a
single disease. And this creates gaps in primary
care and basic prevention. Meanwhile, individual
Africans also have to make responsible choices that
prevent the spread of disease, while promoting
public health in their communities and countries.
So across Africa, we see examples of people tackling
these problems. In Nigeria, an Interfaith effort of
Christians and Muslims has set an example of
cooperation to confront malaria. Here in Ghana and
across Africa, we see innovative ideas for filling
gaps in care -- for instance, through E-Health
initiatives that allow doctors in big cities to
support those in small towns.
America will support these efforts through a
comprehensive, global health strategy, because in
the 21st century, we are called to act by our
conscience but also by our common interest, because
when a child dies of a preventable disease in Accra,
that diminishes us everywhere. And when disease goes
unchecked in any corner of the world, we know that
it can spread across oceans and continents.
And that's why my administration has committed $63
billion to meet these challenges -- $63 billion.
(Applause.) Building on the strong efforts of
President Bush, we will carry forward the fight
against HIV/AIDS. We will pursue the goal of ending
deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, and we will
work to eradicate polio. (Applause.) We will fight
-- we will fight neglected tropical disease. And we
won't confront illnesses in isolation -- we will
invest in public health systems that promote
wellness and focus on the health of mothers and
children. (Applause.)
Now, as we partner on behalf of a healthier future,
we must also stop the destruction that comes not
from illness, but from human beings -- and so the
final area that I will address is conflict.
Let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature
of a continent at perpetual war. But if we are
honest, for far too many Africans, conflict is a
part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars
over land and wars over resources. And it is still
far too easy for those without conscience to
manipulate whole communities into fighting among
faiths and tribes.
These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's
neck. Now, we all have many identities -- of tribe
and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But
defining oneself in opposition to someone who
belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a
different prophet, has no place in the 21st century.
(Applause.) Africa's diversity should be a source of
strength, not a cause for division. We are all God's
children. We all share common aspirations -- to live
in peace and security; to access education and
opportunity; to love our families and our
communities and our faith. That is our common
humanity.
That is why we must stand up to inhumanity in our
midst. It is never justified -- never justifiable to
target innocents in the name of ideology.
(Applause.) It is the death sentence of a society to
force children to kill in wars. It is the ultimate
mark of criminality and cowardice to condemn women
to relentless and systemic rape. We must bear
witness to the value of every child in Darfur and
the dignity of every woman in the Congo. No faith or
culture should condone the outrages against them.
And all of us must strive for the peace and security
necessary for progress.
Africans are standing up for this future. Here, too,
in Ghana we are seeing you help point the way
forward. Ghanaians should take pride in your
contributions to peacekeeping from Congo to Liberia
to Lebanon -- (applause) -- and your efforts to
resist the scourge of the drug trade. (Applause.) We
welcome the steps that are being taken by
organizations like the African Union and ECOWAS to
better resolve conflicts, to keep the peace, and
support those in need. And we encourage the vision
of a strong, regional security architecture that can
bring effective, transnational forces to bear when
needed.
America has a responsibility to work with you as a
partner to advance this vision, not just with words,
but with support that strengthens African capacity.
When there's a genocide in Darfur or terrorists in
Somalia, these are not simply African problems --
they are global security challenges, and they demand
a global response.
And that's why we stand ready to partner through
diplomacy and technical assistance and logistical
support, and we will stand behind efforts to hold
war criminals accountable. And let me be clear: Our
Africa Command is focused not on establishing a
foothold in the continent, but on confronting these
common challenges to advance the security of
America, Africa, and the world. (Applause.)
In Moscow, I spoke of the need for an international
system where the universal rights of human beings
are respected, and violations of those rights are
opposed. And that must include a commitment to
support those who resolve conflicts peacefully, to
sanction and stop those who don't, and to help those
who have suffered. But ultimately, it will be
vibrant democracies like Botswana and Ghana which
roll back the causes of conflict and advance the
frontiers of peace and prosperity.
As I said earlier, Africa's future is up to
Africans.
The people of Africa are ready to claim that future.
And in my country, African Americans -- including so
many recent immigrants -- have thrived in every
sector of society. We've done so despite a difficult
past, and we've drawn strength from our African
heritage. With strong institutions and a strong
will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in
Nairobi and Lagos, Kigali, Kinshasa, Harare, and
right here in Accra. (Applause.)
You know, 52 years ago, the eyes of the world were
on Ghana. And a young preacher named Martin Luther
King traveled here, to Accra, to watch the Union
Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was
before the march on Washington or the success of the
civil rights movement in my country. Dr. King was
asked how he felt while watching the birth of a
nation. And he said: "It renews my conviction in the
ultimate triumph of justice."
Now that triumph must be won once more, and it must
be won by you. (Applause.) And I am particularly
speaking to the young people all across Africa and
right here in Ghana. In places like Ghana, young
people make up over half of the population.
And here is what you must know: The world will be
what you make of it. You have the power to hold your
leaders accountable, and to build institutions that
serve the people. You can serve in your communities,
and harness your energy and education to create new
wealth and build new connections to the world. You
can conquer disease, and end conflicts, and make
change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you
can -- (applause) -- because in this moment, history
is on the move.
But these things can only be done if all of you take
responsibility for your future. And it won't be
easy. It will take time and effort. There will be
suffering and setbacks. But I can promise you this:
America will be with you every step of the way -- as
a partner, as a friend. (Applause.) Opportunity
won't come from any other place, though. It must
come from the decisions that all of you make, the
things that you do, the hope that you hold in your
heart.
Ghana, freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your
responsibility to build upon freedom's foundation.
And if you do, we will look back years from now to
places like Accra and say this was the time when the
promise was realized; this was the moment when
prosperity was forged, when pain was overcome, and a
new era of progress began. This can be the time when
we witness the triumph of justice once more. Yes we
can. Thank you very much. God bless you. Thank you.
(Applause.)
END 1:10 P.M. GMT
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