Ghana, US must achieve justice – US Speaker

The Speaker of the United States Congress, Nancy Pelosi, has called on her country’s government and Ghana’s to achieve justice for their citizens.

Ms Pelosi defined justice as the foundation of hope, adding: “We must ensure that every person, particularly, our young people, have hope and a future.”

To achieve this hope and a future, the US Speaker told Ghana’s parliament on Wednesday, 31 July 2019 that the two governments “must achieve economic justice with boldness of vision”, adding that: “We must be strongly committed to economic progress”.

“Together, our governments must continue to support smart developmental strategies that spur sustainable economic growth and lift up all families in Ghana and throughout Africa,” Ms Pelosi, who is the first female Speaker of the US Congress, said.

Ms Pelosi further noted that Ghana and the US governments must cooperate to create educational and economic opportunities that allow every student and worker to climb the ladders of opportunity, and “we must focus on women and girls. In America, we say ‘when women succeed, America succeeds’, and I’m sure also in Ghana, when women succeed, Ghana succeed.”

Talking about justice in healthcare delivery, Ms Pelosi said both countries must ensure that her citizens can have equal access to basic healthcare.

“We must strive in the eradication of diseases. We cannot accept a world in which where one is born determines whether we have access to quality affordable care service; people need to live their healthy fulfilling lives. Healthcare for us is a right for everyone, not the privileged few,” she stated.

Ms Pelosi also mentioned that Ghana and the US must achieve environmental justice so that all children, no matter where they grow up, can breathe clean air and drink clean water because environmental issues are health issues.

Ms Pelosi was in the country for an official four-day state visit. She was accompanied by the Black caucus in the American Congress. Their visit dovetails into the government’s Year of Return campaign.

Ms Pelosi and her team are expected to leave for the US today.