First Lady Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo congratulated her husband, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the honorary doctorate conferred on him by the University of Sorbonne in Paris, France.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, October 10, 2022, was presented with an honorary doctorate from the University of Sorbonne, in Paris, France, one of the most prestigious universities in Europe and the world.
Sorbonne University conferred the award on President Akufo-Addo, in recognition of his commitment to entrenching the values of democracy in Ghana, fostering peace within the West African Region, guaranteeing access to a minimum of senior high school education for all of Ghana’s children through the implementation of the Free SHS policy, and also for the leadership shown in the fight against COVID-19, amongst others.
This is the fourth Honorary Doctorate Degree to be conferred on the President – the first being an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree conferred on him in May 2016, from the celebrated Fort Hare University of South Africa; the second, in December 2017, being an honourary doctor of humane letters degree from the University of Liberia; and the third, in May 2021, from the University of Cape Coast.
Receiving the honour, the President was delighted to be in the company of Pablo Picasso, Kofi Annan, Amartya Sen, and Nelson Mandela, persons who have also received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Sorbonne University.
In his acceptance speech, he addressed issues on climate change, equity and justice, reform of the multilateral system, and the importance of strengthening international cooperation amongst nations.
On climate change, President Akufo-Addo recounted events at the just-ended Summit for financing Africa’s adaptation to climate change in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and noted that Africa contributes only 4% to the global production of greenhouse gas emissions, but it is the region of the world where the consequences of these are felt most heavily.
He explained that the Adaptation Summit’s mission, ahead of the Conference of the Parties in Egypt, was to mobilize twenty-five billion dollars by 2025 to mitigate the consequences of climate change in terms of food security, resilient infrastructure, creation of suitable jobs, and green finance.
With Africa’s 1.3 billion inhabitants representing nearly eighteen percent (18%) of the world’s population, he told the gathering that this population will balloon to some 2.5 billion by 2050.
Applauding her husband Mrs. Akufo-Addo said « Congratulations sweetheart on your honorary doctorate from The University of Sorbonne, in Paris, an honour previously bestowed on the likes of Pablo Picasso, Kofi Annan, Amartya Sen, and Nelson Mandela. »
« I am proud of you, » she said in a Facebook post.
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