Advancing Diaspora Leadership in U.S.–Africa Policy
What We're
Fighting For
Ghanaian Americans are not just a demographic. We are a transnational bridge — operating across economies, institutions, and nations. GHPAC's 2026 agenda translates that presence into structural policy change.
A Four-Pillar Policy Architecture
GHPAC's 2026 agenda is built around four interconnected priorities that reflect how Ghanaian Americans live, contribute, and connect across borders. These are specific legislative objectives with named bills, measurable outcomes, and diaspora communities directly at stake.
AGOA Reauthorization
The African Growth and Opportunity Act has been the cornerstone of U.S.–Africa commercial engagement for a generation. Short-term extensions create persistent uncertainty that prevents exporters, investors, and diaspora entrepreneurs from making the long-horizon commitments needed for real growth.
GHPAC advocates for a multi-year AGOA reauthorization that gives businesses the stability to build supply chains, hire workers, and scale production. U.S.–Africa trade reached over $104.9 billion in 2024, yet the full potential of diaspora-led business networks remains constrained by stop-and-start policy cycles.
Why it matters to Ghanaian Americans: Many maintain active import-export relationships and investment partnerships with Ghana. AGOA's stability is the operating environment for diaspora-led economic growth.
Why it matters to U.S. policymakers: Predictable trade frameworks strengthen American commercial credibility and unlock private-sector investment that no aid program can replicate.
African Diaspora Investment & Development Act
Introduced in 2025 by Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Rep. Jonathan Jackson, this legislation creates structured pathways to channel diaspora capital into infrastructure, entrepreneurship, and long-term development across Africa.
The World Bank estimates global remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries will reach approximately $685 billion in 2024 — surpassing both foreign direct investment and official development assistance in many regions.
GHPAC supports this act because it validates what Ghanaian Americans are already doing: investing in homes, businesses, and education across both countries. Formalizing those pipelines amplifies community impact and deepens the U.S.–Africa relationship.
PEPFAR Reauthorization & Modernization
PEPFAR has invested more than $100 billion, saved 25 million lives, and supported treatment for millions of people worldwide. It is one of the most effective global health programs in history.
In 2025, GHPAC mobilized more than 30 African diaspora clinicians and advocates — alongside the Ghanaian Diaspora Nursing Alliance — to engage 13 congressional offices on PEPFAR continuity and global health security. It was the largest known African diaspora health advocacy effort on Capitol Hill.
GHPAC's 2026 position calls for strengthened prevention, expanded maternal and youth health integration, and long-term treatment continuity. For Ghanaian Americans — many of whom work in healthcare — PEPFAR's outcomes are personal, not theoretical.
Sickle Cell Disease Comprehensive Care Act
Approximately 100,000 people in the United States live with sickle cell disease — more than 90 percent Black or African American. Globally, around 8 million are affected, disproportionately people of African descent.
Despite its burden, sickle cell disease has long faced underinvestment. GHPAC supports legislation to expand newborn screening, increase access to specialized care centers, scale research funding, and foster global collaboration on treatment innovation.
For many Ghanaian American families, sickle cell is a daily reality. Diaspora clinicians and researchers are uniquely positioned to bridge public education, research participation, and international collaboration.
Federal Remittance Tax Elimination
In 2025, GHPAC's coordinated advocacy helped reduce a proposed federal remittance tax from 5 percent to 1 percent. But the goal is not reduction. The goal is elimination.
Global remittance flows are estimated at $685 billion for 2024. Any tax creates inefficiencies, pushes activity toward informal channels, and penalizes productive cross-border economic activity that functions as development finance. GHPAC's 2026 mandate: zero federal remittance tax.
Medicare Abroad Access
Medicare does not cover healthcare received outside the U.S. except in very narrow circumstances. For Ghanaian Americans who split time between the U.S. and Ghana — caring for relatives, aging across borders — this creates serious continuity-of-care gaps.
GHPAC advocates for pilot programs allowing qualified Medicare beneficiaries to access care in countries like Ghana. The trifold benefit: continuity of care, strengthened U.S.–Ghana health partnerships, and measurable cost reductions for the U.S. system.
H-1B Visa Access & African Talent Equity
Ghanaians are among the most highly educated immigrant groups in the U.S., with significant representation in healthcare, STEM, finance, and public service. Yet H-1B visa structures consistently underserve African talent relative to other regions.
GHPAC monitors H-1B visa initiatives, advocates for increased African awardee representation, and pushes back against policies that would reduce pathways for Ghanaian professionals and scholars to contribute to U.S. institutions.
Why it matters to Ghanaian Americans: Skilled visa access is the primary pipeline through which Ghana's talent connects to U.S. opportunity. Restrictions reduce both communities' capacity for innovation and healthcare delivery.
Why it matters to U.S. policymakers: African-born professionals are among the most credentialed immigrant cohorts in the U.S. workforce. Closing pathways costs American institutions, not just immigrant communities.
Green Card Expansion & Citizenship Pathways
GHPAC supports Green Card expansion programs that reflect the reality of long-term, high-contributing immigrant communities. Backlogs, country caps, and inconsistent processing timelines create unnecessary barriers for people who have built lives and careers in the U.S.
GHPAC also supports accessible naturalization pathways with community education programs — increasing civic participation, voting power, and long-term political representation for the Ghanaian American community.
International Student Visa Protections
GHPAC has a documented record of pushing back against DHS proposals that would restrict visa access and impose fixed time limits on international students — policies that disproportionately harm Ghanaian and African students in the U.S.
GHPAC supports protections for F-1 and J-1 visa holders, opposing regulatory changes that would destabilize the academic planning of thousands of Ghanaian students currently enrolled in U.S. universities.
Diaspora Advocacy Is Not a Privilege.
It Is Our Right.
GHPAC represents over 5 million Ghanaians in the diaspora. Uniting that voice — organized, strategic, and persistent — is how policy changes. Be part of the work.