President John Mahama has urged African leaders to prioritize health sovereignty amid significant cuts in international health funding.
In his remarks on Monday during a meeting of heads of state and government of the Africa CDC ahead of the UN General Assembly debates, the president emphasised that sovereignty in health is not optional, but rather survival.”
The President noted that external health funding is declining rapidly, citing recent cuts by the U.S. Congress of $8 billion from international assistance and termination of USAID contracts worth $54 billion.
“NATO allies, to meet the target of 5% of GDP for defence spending, are all making cuts to ODA,” he stated.
If we do not take our health destiny into our own hands, our citizens would be left without medicines, without vaccines, and without hope,” he added.
Outlining Ghana’s concrete steps toward health self-reliance, the President said the country has instituted the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Act (MahamaCare) for non-communicable diseases, a National Vaccine Institute backed with GHS 75 million, and an upcoming Free Primary Health Care programme.
“We uncapped the National Health Insurance Fund to restore GHS 3.5 billion of health funding which was previously swept into the consolidated fund,” he told fellow leaders.
The President referenced last month’s Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra, which launched the “Accra Reset” initiative to transform global health governance.
“Africa must not only be invited to global health discussions,” he asserted. “Africa must be a co-convener, a co-designer, and a co-owner of solutions,” he urged.
He called for united African engagement with global health mechanisms like GAVI and the Global Fund.
“When we go to GAVI, the Global Fund, or the Pandemic Fund, we must go as one Africa – united, determined, and demanding fairness and equity,” he said.
President Mahama will host a side event on Tuesday evening titled “The Accra Reset: Reimagining Global Governance for Health and Development.”
He concluded his address with a call to action: “Health is not a cost. It is the engine of productivity and the foundation of sovereignty. The time is now.”
The meeting focused on sustainable health financing, local manufacturing, and pandemic preparedness for African nations.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
