Barack Obama, the first African-American president, has arrived in Ghana on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as US leader.

Barack Obama，第一位非洲裔美国总统，已经抵达迦纳，开始了他作为美国领导之后的第一次撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲之旅。

Obama-print dresses are on sale in Accra

Ghana was chosen because of its democratic（民主的） track record and Mr Obama is expected to use the trip to promote democracy across the continent.

He is due to visit a former slave fort as part of his 24-hour visit.

Posters of Barack and Michelle Obama dot the capital, Accra, where their arrival was eagerly awaited.

On arrival, President Obama and his family were met by Ghanaian President John Atta Mills, and treated to a colourful welcome featuring drummers and traditional dancers.

The BBC's Will Ross says that though Mr Obama's visit will be brief he wants to send a message, holding up Ghana - which has held a series of successful democratic elections - as a model for the rest of the continent.

Ghanaian musicians have written songs to mark the visit and it is clear that millions of Ghanaians would love to see Mr Obama, our correspondent says.

However, there will be few opportunities for them to do so during his 24-hour stay.

When former President Bill Clinton came more than a decade ago, he addressed hundreds of thousands of cheering Ghanaians.

But post-9/11, security is tighter and all events are for invited guests only, our correspondent notes.

Key rings and umbrellas

Barack Obama visited sub-Saharan Africa while a US senator, making a trip to Kenya - his father's homeland - in August 2006.

Mr Obama's official business on Saturday includes talks with Ghana's president and a speech to parliament.

Ahead of the president's arrival late on Friday, people were already out celebrating, dancing and drumming in the seaside city's streets.

Memorabilia（大事记） being sold by vendors¹（厂商，小贩） ranged from key rings and coffee mugs（杯，脸） to handkerchiefs and umbrellas bearing portraits of Mr Obama and Mr Atta-Mills.

Thousands of police have been deployed² for the visit and a number of city roads were closed on Friday.

Cape³ Coast, a town about 160km (100 miles) west of Accra, has even suspended funerals on account of Mr Obama's impending⁴（逼迫的，迫切的） visit to its old slave fort.

"We banned all funeral activities in Cape Coast because we want to give a befitting（合适的，适当的） welcome to the US president," Ghana's central regional minister, Ama Benyiwaa Doe, told AFP news agency.

"The dead can be buried later but Obama is here for once and we must pay all attention to him."

Squeeze on aid

Across the African continent, people are pinning a lot of hope on Barack Obama partly because of his African roots but also because of his election slogan（标语，口语）, Yes We Can, our correspondent reports.

He arrived in Ghana hours after leaders of the G8 industrialised countries pledged billions of dollars to boost agriculture - the main source of income for many sub-Saharan Africans.

But in Africa it will not be easy for Mr Obama to live up to some of the achievements of his predecessor⁵, George W Bush, Will Ross adds.

The financial climate is different now and American-funded programmes, such as the provision（规定，条款） of medicine for people living with HIV, are facing new challenges.