This announcement was made during a presentation by the French Embassy and Republic Bank to the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) on July 9, 2024.
A special day dedicated to Ghana is scheduled for August 10th, featuring performances by these renowned artists to highlight Ghana’s rich musical heritage.
Additionally, an African fan zone called Station Afrique will open on July 20th, celebrating various African cultures.
Ghana is also preparing for the Olympics with a pre-camp in Strasbourg, France, where athletes and para-athletes will train using top-notch facilities.
Watch video below:
According to a representative from the French Embassy, Sarkodie, King Promise, and other artists are set to perform at the Fans Zone on August 10, during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. pic.twitter.com/IpZcoV49n4
France has maintained strong ties with its former colonies and has a military presence across West Africa. However, resentment towards France’s presence has grown following a series of military coups, with some critics perceiving it as interference.
The letter, dated September 14 and confirmed by Reuters, stipulated that Pasquier and his staff had two weeks to depart from Burkina Faso. As of the time of the report, the French embassy in Ouagadougou could not be reached, but a diplomatic source indicated that Pasquier was still in the country.
France’s foreign ministry stated it was investigating reports of the expulsion and could not provide immediate comments.
The letter did not provide specific details regarding the reasons for Pasquier’s expulsion. It did, however, mention the immediate closure of the defense section of the Burkina Faso embassy in Paris.
Burkina Faso’s self-appointed transitional government had previously ordered the departure of France’s ambassador and that of senior United Nations official Barbara Manzi. Additionally, there has been a crackdown on French media.
Anti-French sentiment has been on the rise since Burkina Faso first came under military rule in January 2022. Several protests against the French military presence have occurred, partly linked to the perception that France has not done enough to address the jihadist insurgency that has spread from neighboring Mali in recent years.
The prolonged insecurity has contributed to political instability and has prompted two military coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso, and one in Niger since 2020. Niger’s junta, which seized power at the end of July, expelled the French ambassador last month.
Ghana andFrance have reached an agreement to boost the country’s health sector.
Under the agreement, additional support will be offered to the country for scientific research into the most appropriate way to implement secondary prevention of cervical cancer among women living with HIV.
The €2.8 million grant, which was made possible through Expertise France to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), will also support the country’s response against diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The agreement was signed between the two countries at the Residence of the France Ambassador to Ghana in Accra last Thursday.
The Director-General of the GHS,Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, initialled on behalf of the beneficiaries, while the Head of Cooperation at the French Embassy in Ghana, Julien Lecas, signed for his country. Investment
Mr Lecas, who represented his ambassador, said Ghana had received support from the Global Fund for over 20 years, with significant investment on HIV, tuberculosis and malaria pandemics.
“And as you may know, France is a major donor to the Global Fund. This week, the team of L’Initiative from Expertise France is here in Accra, together with the Global Fund country team.
“It is our hope that this visit will trigger further development of L’Initiative’s portfolio in Ghana.
“We at the French Embassy in Ghana are very pleased to be able to officially launch the two programmes funded by L’Initiative to strengthen and evaluate the quality of health services by the GHS on one hand.
“And on the other hand, it is also aimed at supporting the secondary prevention of cervical cancer among women living with HIV through the NMIMR,” he said.
The Technical Director at Expertise France Groupe, Eric Fleutelot, said his outfit was pleased to support Ghana improve on its health care.
“And I know that we are already making progress”, however, more efforts were needed to reduce vertical transmission of HIV, he added. Community scorecard
Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the grant was offered through a community scorecard initiative by the GHS.
He said the initiative, which was introduced in 2018, was aimed at strengthening community participation in health care and also improving accountability in service delivery.
According to him, the grant would help extend the scorecard implemented to include HIV and tuberculosis.
An Associate Professor in charge of Medicine, Molecular, Microbiology and Virology at NMIMR, Prof. George Kyei, said there was the need for a national policy to integrate cervical cancer screening into routine HIV care.
The French government has denied claims made by Burkina Faso’s new military junta that it is siding with deposed commander Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
The statement was made by the juntaheaded by Captain Ibrahim Traore, which came to power on September 30, 2022, promising to restore stability throughout the country of West Africa.
According to an October 1, 2022 statement read on national TV, RTB, a member of the new junta, Sous-Lieutenant Jean-Baptiste Kabre, said the former leader of the MPSR – the name of the junta, had refused to leave power quietly.
Kabre alleged that Sandaogo Damiba was planning a “counter-offensive” and claimed further that he was doing this from a French base.
On Saturday, there were violent attacks against the French Embassy in Burkina Faso as protesters marched on the facility and threatened to burn it by lighting fires around the building
In an October 1, 2022 statement from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France denied the allegation and said it was not hosting Damiba in any of its facilities.
“France formally denies any involvement in the events underway since yesterday in Burkina Faso.
“The camp where the French forces are located has never hosted Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, nor has our embassy,” the statement read.
Read the complete statement below:
STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON OF THE MINISTRY FOR EUROPE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Burkina Faso
October 1, 2022
France formally deniesany involvement in the events underway since yesterday in Burkina Faso.
The camp where the French forces are located has never hosted Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, nor has our embassy.
PRESS SERVICE
Spokesperson Sub-Directorate
New junta leader Captain Traore’s announced the takeover of executive power and deposition of Damiba, barely 10 months after the later seized power from democratically elected Christian Roch Marc Kabore.
The junta dissolved the government and the transitional national assembly as well as imposed a curfew and closed all the country’s borders.
The overthrow was premised on the continued deterioration of the insecurity situation even as terrorists continue to launch deadly raids on security forces and the local population.
ECOWAS and AU sound condemnation
The West African regional bloc, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has condemned the September 30, 2022 coup that took place in Burkina Faso, where a new military junta overthrew another.
What started out as an exchange of heavy gunfire on Friday morning was confirmed late in the evening with a broadcast on National TV announcing the takeover.
In a statement issued from the ECOWAS Commission hours after the announcement, the bloc said it firmly condemned the incident at a time the Sandaogo Damiba-led junta was making progress on an orderly return to constitutional order by July 1, 2024.
The junta said a new leader – civilian or military will be announced in due course, but before that, some measures put in place include the dissolution of the government, the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT), and the Transition Charter as well as the closure of borders.
The AU statement signed by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission was titled: ‘The Chairperson of the African Union Commission unequivocally condemns the second takeover of power by force in Burkina Faso,’ and it read:
“The Chairperson calls upon the military to immediately and totally refrain from any acts of violence or threats to the civilian population, civil liberties, human rights, and ensure strict compliance with electoral deadlines for the restoration of Constitutional order by 1 July 2024, at the latest.
“The Chairperson reaffirms the continued support of the African Union to the people of Burkina Faso to ensure peace, stability, and development of the country.”
