Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It spans the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east. Ghana covers an area of 238,535 km2 (92,099 sq mi), spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rain forests. With over 31 million people, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. The capital and largest city is Accra; other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi.
Tamale, officially called Tamale Metropolitan Area is the capital city of the Northern Region of Ghana. Tamale is Ghana's third-largest city and an emerging investment hotspot in West Africa. It has a projected population of 950,124 according to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly Official Website. It is the fastest-growing city in West Africa. The city is located 600 km (370 mi) north of Accra. Most residents of Tamale are Muslims and Dagombas by tribe, as reflected by the multitude of mosques in Tamale, most notably the Central Mosque, Afa Ajura Mosque, Afa Basha mosque and The Ahmadiyyah Muslim mission Mosque.
Hilla Limann, was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served the President of Ghana from 24 September 1979 to 31 December 1981. He served as a diplomat in Lome, Togo and Geneva, Switzerland.
Islam is one of the major religions practiced widely in Ghana. Its presence in Ghana dates back to the 10th century. According to the Ghana Statistical Service's Population and Housing census, the population of Muslims in Ghana is about 17.6%.
Wa is a town and the capital of Wa Municipal District and the Upper West Region of northern Ghana. Wa had a 2012 settlement population of 102,446. Features of the town include several churches and mosques, the Wa-Na Palace, the St. Andrew's Catholic cathedral, the University for Development Studies (UDS), a museum, a nearby hippopotamus sanctuary in Wicheau, the mushroom rock In Jirapa and the ants hill at Nanvielle. The geography of Wa is notable for the dramatic monadnock Ombo Mountain, which is located around Kaleo and visible from much of the Wa town. Other notable towns around Wa region include Naaha and Ga.
The Upper East Region is located in north Ghana and is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. The Upper East regional capital is Bolgatanga, sometimes referred to as Bolga. Other major towns in the region include Navrongo, Paga, Bawku and Zebilla.
John Dramani Mahama is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as president on 24 July 2012 following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills. Mahama is a communication expert, historian, and writer. He is a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who was a Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi from 1997 to 2009 and served as Deputy Minister for Communication between 1997 and 1998 before becoming the substantive Minister for Communications from 1998 to 2001.
Offinso Municipal District is one of the forty-three districts in Ashanti Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988 when it was known as Offinso District, which it was created from the former Offinso District Council; until the northern part of the district was later split off to create Offinso North District on 29 February 2008; while the remaining part was elevated to municipal district assembly status on the same year to become Offinso Municipal District. The municipality is located in the northern part of Ashanti Region and has Offinso as its capital town.
Ghana is a multilingual country in which about eighty languages are spoken. Of these, English, which was inherited from the colonial era, is the official language and lingua franca. Of the languages indigenous to Ghana, Akan is the most widely spoken.
Before the arrival of European settlers, who introduced a formal education system addressed to the elites, education in Ghana was mainly informal and based on apprenticeship. Pre-Independent Ghana was known as the Gold Coast. The economy of the pre-colonial Gold Coast was dependent on subsistence farming, in which farm produce was shared within households, and members of each household specialized in providing necessities. These included cooking utilities, shelter, clothing, and furniture. Trade with other households was therefore practiced on a very small scale. This made economic activities in the pre-colonial Gold Coast, a family institution: family-owned and family-controlled. As such, there was no need for employment outside the household that would have otherwise called for disciplines, values, and skills through a formal education system. After colonization, Ghana's economy became a hybrid of subsistence and formal economy.
The University for Development Studies, Tamale was established in 1992 by the government of Ghana with a view to accelerating the development of the then 3 Northern Regions of Ghana. The late President Jerry John Rawlings played a crucial role in its founding as he used his prized money from World Food Prize of $50,000 as seed money for its founding. It was set up as a multi-campus institution. It is the fifth public university to be established in Ghana. This deviates from the usual practice of having universities with central campuses and administrations. It was created with the three northern regions of North Ghana in mind. These are the Northern Region, Upper East Region and the Upper West Region. It has four campuses in all, eight Faculties, a Business School, one Medical School, one Graduate School, one Institute and three centres.
Agogo is a town in the Asante Akim North Municipal District of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Agogo is approximately 80 kilometers east of Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, and had a population of 28,271 in the 2000 census. Computer projections estimate that the 2007 population was 32,859.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He is a founding member of the New Patriotic Party. He served as Member of Parliament for the Sekondi constituency from 1996 to 2016. In June 2017 Papa Owusu-Ankomah was appointed Ghana's High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland. His tour of duty ended on 30 November 2020. He has been called the Quiet Dynamo of Ghanaian politics. He met the Queen Elizabeth II when he was presenting his Letters of Credence at the Buckingham Palace in London.
The status of women in Ghana and their roles in Ghanaian society has changed over the past few decades. There has been a slow increase in the political participation of Ghanaian women throughout history. Women are given equal rights under the Constitution of Ghana, yet disparities in education, employment, and health for women remain prevalent. Additionally, women have much less access to resources than men in Ghana do. Ghanaian women in rural and urban areas face slightly different challenges. Throughout Ghana, female-headed households are increasing.
The drinking water supply and sanitation sector in Ghana faces a number of challenges, including very limited access to sanitation, intermittent supply, high water losses, low water pressure, and pollution. Since 1994, the sector has been gradually reformed through the creation of an autonomous regulatory agency, introduction of private sector participation, decentralization of the rural supply to 138 districts and increased community participation in the management of rural water systems.
Susanna Al-Hassan or Susan Alhassan was a Ghanaian author and politician, who in 1961 became Ghana's first female to be appointed minister. She was the first African woman to hold a cabinet portfolio and became the member of parliament for the then Northern Region parliamentary constituency between 1960 and 1966. She also wrote several children's books.
Joseph Zaphenat Amenowode is a Ghanaian politician and academic. He was the Member of Parliament for Hohoe South and was the Minister for the Volta Region of Ghana from January 2009 until his dismissal on 6 March 2012. He has worked as a university lecturer prior to going into politics.
Ernestina Naadu Mills is a Ghanaian educator and former First Lady of Ghana. She was the wife of former Ghanaian president John Atta Mills, and is the recipient of a Humanitarian award from the Health Legend Foundation. She was also the Second Lady of Ghana from 1996 to 2001. She taught for 33 years, teaching in schools such as Aburi Girls' Senior High School, Achimota School and Holy Trinity Cathedral Senior High School. She has been honoured in other countries and in Ghana for her contribution to children's education.
Ahmadiyya is an Islam branch in Ghana, under the spiritual leadership of the caliph in London. The early rise of the Community in Ghana can be traced through a sequence of events beginning roughly at the same time as the establishment of the worldwide Community in 1889 in British India. It was during the early period of the Second Caliphate that the first missionary, Abdul Rahim Nayyar was sent to what was then the Gold Coast in 1921 upon invitation from Muslims in Saltpond. Having established the Ahmadiyya movement in the country, Nayyar left and was replaced by the first permanent missionary, Al Hajj Fadl-ul-Rahman Hakim in 1922.
Mustapha Abdul-Hamid is a Ghanaian politician and lecturer. He is currently the chief executive officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA)
