Germany picks Ghana over Nigeria for West African centre of global health

The German Government has said it will back the establishment of a German-West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention in Ghana.

“Excellent news: Germany will support the launch of a new “German-West African Center for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention,” the German ambassador to Ghana, Christoph Retzlaff, tweeted on his official handle on Thursday evening. “It will be located in Ghana and be part of 8 new centres worldwide to fight global challenges.”

Germany’s recent move comes less than a week after social media giant, Twitter said it will set up its African base in the country.

“Today, in line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana,” the social media giant noted in a blog post published on Monday evening while reiterating its commitment to invest in talents whenever it enters new markets.

“To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”

Twitter explained that its decision was based on Ghana being “a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate.”

The decision from the company sparked debates online with users of the microblogging platform saying the development is an indictment on the Nigerian government.

They argued that if things were working perfectly, the country’s population should be enticing enough for the technology firm to locate its base in Nigeria.

But the Federal Government blamed unpatriotic Nigerians for Twitter’s choice, insisting that the country was demarketed by the same persons.

“The reasons cited by Twitter for citing the headquarters in Accra, Ghana is that Accra is a champion of democracy and there is rule of law in the country, among other reasons. This is what you get when you de-market your country,” the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed told newsmen in Abuja on Thursday. (Text, excluding headline, courtesy Channels TV)