The US First Lady Melania Trump has announced that she will be visiting Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt on her first major international solo trip to promote child welfare and education.

Melania Trump, 48, made the announcement of visiting the "four beautiful and very different countries"at a reception welcoming spouses of visiting heads of state and other foreign delegations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

“October 1 will mark the first day of my solo visit to four beautiful and very different countries in Africa: Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt,” she said.

She said all those countries had worked alongside USAID in making progress towards overcoming some of their biggest challenges.

“I am so proud of the work this administration is doing through USAID and others, and look forward to the opportunity to take the message of my ‘Be Best’ campaign to many of the countries and children throughout Africa,” she added.

She said her trip to Africa will focus on "good-deed projects".

Mrs Trump said the trip will be organised with the US government's international aid agency and would be part of her Be Best campaign, which aims to improve child welfare, especially when it comes to online behaviour and addiction to opioids.

"Each of us hails from a country with its own unique challenges, but I know in my heart we are united by our commitment to raising the next generation to be happy, healthy and morally responsible adults," AP news agency quotes her as saying.

The US president has yet to travel to Africa since taking office, and sailed into controversy at the start of the year for allegedly disparaging “shithole” countries on the continent.

Earlier on Wednesday, Donald Trump trailed his wife’s announcement, saying “we both love Africa. Africa is so beautiful