Is Obama snubbing Africa ?
How does it make you feel to hear his critics say , U . S . President Barrack Hussein Obama , the first American president with a Kenyan father , has neglected Africa ? How about , he has not paid as much attention to Africa as previous US presidents . It sounds like many of these critics are disappointed . On the surface , the criticism has credence . For instance , in 2003 , former US President George W . Bush initiated the President ’ s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ( PEPFAR ). According to statistics , when the Bush administration launched PEPFAR in 2003 , less than 50,000 HIV-infected people in Africa were receiving antire-troviral drugs that keep the virus in check and halt the progression toward full-blown AIDS . By the time Bush left office , the number had increased to nearly 2 million . Today , the United States supports more than 4 million AIDS patients around the world , and most of them are in Africa . George Bush also visited Africa and hosted an elaborate State Dinner for Ghanaian President John Kufour .
President Bill Clinton was regarded as a rock star in Africa . From his historic visit to Accra , Ghana where he was mobbed by the crowd in a hot humid afternoon , to attending OAU Sessions in Africa , and visiting farmers in Eastern Africa , Bill Clinton dedicated a great deal of his presidency to African issues . He also increased US trade to Africa where people love and cherished him . He helped fund the training of Nigerian soldiers that ultimately ended the rebel war in Sierra Leone , and was instrumental in ending many of the conflicts that engulfed Africa in the 1990s .
When President Obama defeated John McCain in 2008 , Africa , especially sub-Saharan Africa , erupted in euphoria . After years of misinformation in America about Africa , many Africans believed that with their son at the helm , Africa was going to be at the forefront of American policy . They expected President Obama to visit Africa often and meet with African leaders and the general populace . When the President only made one stop in Africa , Accra , for a brief oneday visit on his way from the G-8 Summit in Italy in July , 2009 , many Africans criticized him for not being totally engaged with African issues . However , one has to take a closer look at the Obama Presidency to understand his relationship with Africa .
When President Obama took the Oath of Office at the United States Capitol on January 21 , 2009 , the United States economy was at the brink of collapse . Major banks , credit unions , car manufacturers and major companies were all crumbling and the President had to act quickly . Two years after taking office , President Obama experienced what he termed a “ shellacking ” when Republicans won 62 seats in the House of Representatives to wrest the House from Democratic control . After the midterm elections , it became clear to the President that he had to stay laser focused on improving the US economy if he were to win a second term . For the next two years , between 2010 and 2012 , most of the President ’ s trips were for economic development of the US economy .
Just because President Obama has only been to Ghana and Egypt during his last four years , it does not mean he does not care for Africa . President Obama sent his Secretary of State , Hillary Clinton to seven African nations : Senegal , South Sudan , Uganda , Kenya , South Africa , Malawi , and Nigeria to elaborate on the speech the President gave to the Ghanaian parliament in Accra . During that visit , among other things , President Obama told the
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