Ghana

Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry Rawlings took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, Rawlings won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John Kufuor succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. Kufuor is constitutionally barred from running for a third term in upcoming Presidential elections, which are scheduled for December 2008.

Population (1): 23,382,848

Religions (1): Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), Muslim 15.9%, traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census)

HIV/AIDS 2003 estimates (1):
Adult prevalence rate: 3.1%
People living with HIV/AIDS: 350,000
HIV/AIDS deaths: 30,000

Life expectancy in years (2): 57

Annual per capita GNI U.S. dollars (3): $520.00

Total number of orphans (4): 1,000,000

Education:
Children completing primary school (5): Male – 62%; Female – 65%
Children enrolled in secondary school (6): Male – 48%; Female – 42%

Number of physicians per 100,000 people (7): 15

(1) CIA – The World Factbook
(2) (5) (6) Source: State of the World Population 2007
(3) Source: World Bank World Development Indicator Database, 1 July 2007, 2006 estimates
(4) Sources: UNICEF Africa’s OVCs affected by AIDS 2005
(7) WHO Human Resources for Health

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ROS serving in Ghana

Nancy Bond
Joanne Colvin
Cathy Carney
Karen Harkness
Amy Ketcham
Libbie and Rob Seaton

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