'Development of the United Kingdom Essay\r'

'formally cognise as the Republic of gold coast, it was Europe’s beginning(a) trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa †initially trading in g grey and then(prenominal) later as a primary supplier of slaves. Although it was subsequently colonized by the British, it later became the first area in Africa to obtain indep blockadeence from its coloniser (BBC News). Ghana came into existence in 1957 when what was then known as the Gold Coast acquired its independence from the British. primed(p) along the Gulf of Guinea in western hemisphere Africa (see U. S. responsibility Department map reproduced below), the country occupies an state of roughly 238,538 sq.\r\nkm. composed of plains, rainforest, and some scrubland (U. S. State Department). Its cap city is Accra ( universe of discourse: 3 million) and the other capitulum cities are Kumasi, with an estimated population of 1 million, Tema (500,000), and Sekondi-Takoradi (population: 370,000). English has been designated formal language of the Ghanaians but several dialects are mouth like Akan, which is spoken by about 49% of the population, Mole-Dagbani (16%), Ewe (13%), Ga-Adangbe (8%), and Guan, the dialect of 4% of the population.\r\nSixty-nine percent of its estimated population of 23 million are Christians spot 15. 6% are Muslims. Indigenous religious beliefs are creation practiced by 8. 5% of Ghanaians. Although it existed as a democratic republic since its independence in 1957, the establishment of Ghana took effect only on January 7, 1993 (U. S. State Department). The cultural practices of Ghanaians which are mainly related to â€Å"conception, child relationship, and childrearing” constitute of some harmful customs and traditions. One of these is â€Å"female person genital mutilation (FGM).\r\n” This is a procedure which is conducted to partially or enumerately remove the external genitalia of a girl to turn her into a real woman. some other is a belief in dietary ta boos which ofttimes leads to anemia or nutritional deficiency on the part of pregnant women. In Ghana, when a spousals does not produce an offspring after dickens years, it is considered defective. After a woman gives birth, the Ghanaians believe that hide the placenta near the house of the family would prevent the child from suppuration up into an errant or rebellious individual.\r\nIn addition, they would wait for eight days after birth before naming the child and treating the umbilical stack with herbal preparations (Nyinah). Ghana is rich in indispensable resources with gold and cocoa being two of its major(ip) dollar earners. Its other export products are timber, diamonds, aluminum, tuna, manganese ore, and bauxite. In spite of this, the country still relies firmly on the assistance of international financial and skilful institutions to remain viable.\r\nThirty- fin percent of its gross interior(prenominal) product comes from the agricultural sector which also accoun ts for 55% of total employment in the country, most(prenominal)ly in the form of small landowners. forth from seeking debt moderateness in 2002 under the Heavily Indebted short(p) Country (HIPC) program, Ghana was also one of the beneficiaries of the four-lobed Debt Relief Initiative which came into force in 2006 (CIA demesne Factbook). As of 2006, total exports reached an estimated $3. 9 billion while imports totaled $6. 8 billion.\r\nIdentified trade partners were the joined States, the linked Kingdom, China, Germany, France, Spain, Nigeria, the Netherlands, and Togo (U. S. State Department). Statistics gleaned by Global wellness Reporting. org from the CIA ball Factbook and a report published by UNAIDS in May 2006 about the spheric pestilential on AIDS showed that as at end of 2005, an estimated 29,000 had already died from AIDS in Ghana, leaving scum bag them about 170,000 children below 17 years old who had lost one or both parents to the disease.\r\nThe comparable sources also revealed that by the end of 2005, there were 320,000 Ghanaians who were animated with HIV/AIDS, 25,000 of whom were children below 14 years old. Aside from AIDS, another major health concern of the country is malaria. With about three million new cases being reported every year, malaria accounts for approximately 61% of total hospital admissions in the country among children below five years old (Global wellness Reporting. org).\r\nIn its skin against AIDS, malaria, and other diseases which have been plaguing Ghanaians, the country has received change degrees of support from international organizations such as the ball Health Organization, Global Fund To Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank, the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Accra Daily Mail, 3/17 as cited in Global Health Reporting.\r\norg). On meet 17, 2008, a c adenosine monophosphateaign named â€Å"Voices for Mal aria-Free emerging” was launched in the country to educate the people about the techniques and the key concepts and practices used in fighting malaria. rosemary Ardayfio, who represented the media in the launching ceremony, announced the arrangement of the Media Malaria Network composed of journalists from the print and online organizations.\r\nArdayfio explained that aside from recognizing the economic consumption of the different media organizations in malaria advocacy, the network specifically aims â€Å"to dispel information about the use of insecticide-treated nets and appropriate medicine” (Global Health Reporting. org). Ghana was among the 177 countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol which aims to drive industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases to prevent global warming (UNFCCC).\r\nIn addition, Ghana was also a party to other international agreements governing dangerous wastes, biodiversity, endangered species, law of the se a, ship pollution, environmental modification, ozone forge protection, wetlands, and tropical timber (CIA World Factbook). The Republic of Ghana faces a bright future. It is endowed with plenty of inwrought resources. Its leadership has commitment itself to free and compulsory fundamental education. In fact, its â€Å"free, compulsory, universal basic education (FCUBE)” which was launched in 1996 has been labeled the â€Å"most ambitious pre-tertiary education programs in West Africa” (U.\r\nS. State Department). It has also been described as a â€Å"well-administered country by regional standards” and considered a model for economic and political reforms in the region. And, most of all, a major oil reserve was sight in 2007 (BBC News). For these reasons alone, the country and its people have no reason to remain impoverished. Works Cited BBC News. â€Å"Country indite: Ghana. ” International version. 6 February 2008. 22 contact 2008. <http://news . bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1023355. stm> CIA World Factbook. â€Å"Ghana. ” 6 March 2008. 22 March 2008. https://www. cia.\r\ngov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh. hypertext mark-up language Global Health Reporting. org. â€Å"Ghana. ” 22 March 2008. http://globalhealthreporting. org/countries/ghana. asp viper? collID=11& vitamin A;id=144& angstrom unit;malID=187 &tbID=188&hivIC=189&malIC=190&tbIC=191&map=192&con=Ghana&p=1 Nyinah, S. â€Å"Cultural practices in Ghana. ” World Health. March-April 1997. 22 March 2008. <http://www. popline. org/docs/1204/126178. html> UNFCCC. â€Å"Kyoto Protocol. ” 22 March 2008. <http://unfccc. int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830. php> U. S. State Department. â€Å"Background note: Ghana. ” January 2008. 22 March 2008. <http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2860. htm>\r\n'