A total of 4,900 Ghanaian students benefitted from the United States of America’s seven million dollars worth of scholarships last year to study in that Country.
Mr Kevin J. Brosnahan, Press Attaché at the US Embassy, made this known when he made a stopover in Cape Coast to familiarise himself with the media in the Metropolis and discuss other matters of mutual interest with journalists.
He was on his way to the Western Region to partake in a workshop on HIV and AIDS reporting for journalists at Tarkwa to mark 20 years of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme in the Country.
He first visited the management of GBC Radio Central where he was received by Mr Alexander Ashie, the Regional Director, who briefed him on the operations of the station and how its programmes were positively impacting the region and called for support to roll out programmes to combat child labour and abject poverty.
Mr Brosnahan, accompanied by Mrs Joyce Okyere Asiedu, Press and Media Specialist at the Embassy, had radio discussions, focusing on press freedom, ending HIV/AIDS stigma, and the Embassy’s social development support and opportunities.
Mr Brosnahan said the Embassy, through USAID, continued to offer significant support to various communities and individuals in areas, including education, health and water to engender development.
He indicated that inclusive economic growth was the way to check violent extremism for instance, and therefore, the Embassy would not relent on its development agenda.
“We will continue to invest in people through exchange programmes to spur growth,” he said.
He later visited the University of Cape Coast (UCC) Campus Broadcasting Services (CBS) Centre and interacted with management members and had a radio interview on ATL FM.
Mr Kwabena Antwi-Konadu, General Manager of the Centre, took him through the history of ATL FM and the core mandates of the centre.
Mr Brosnahan proceeded to pay a courtesy call to Prof. William Gyasi, Head of the Department of Communication Studies, UCC, where they engaged in broad discussions on support programmes.
Mr Brosnahan further stressed the need to prioritise press freedom and the development of journalists given the indispensable role of the media in development and democracy.
He maintained that journalists would do a better job reporting on facts and holding governments accountable with constant training on relevant subjects.
As part of their ongoing support for journalists, the Press Attaché said the Embassy had partnered with several media development organizations and experts to train journalists on fact-checking, investigative journalism and covering Differently Abled Persons.
He expressed the Embassy’s commitment to offering continuous support to the Ghanaian media.
Touching on HIV/AIDS, Mr Brosnahan cautioned that stigma against patients could kill because it deterred people from seeking care.
He maintained that HIV/AIDS was not a death sentence as it could be managed to keep patients living normal life.
The fight against the stigma attached to the disease, he noted, started with the media whose duty it was to help people to appreciate the nature of HIV/AIDS and how it could be prevented and managed.
The workshop in Tarkwa would, therefore, train journalists to understand the subject and help them report appropriately to end stigmatisation.
