President John Dramani Mahama and global leaders have launched the Accra Reset, a framework for re-engineering global development institutions, financing and partnerships as the Sustainable Development Goals era nears its close.
The launch took place at a high-level side event during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
President Mahama who is the African Union Champion for African Financial Institutions led heads of state, multilateral leaders and private sector partners at the launch.
Opening the event President Mahama stated that the current development architecture is fraying.
He said COVID-19 has erased two decades of progress in less than two years and extreme climate shocks now threaten nearly 735 million people with hunger.
“Many developing countries spend more servicing debt than on health and education,” he stated
With fewer than half of the 169 SDG targets on track Mahama argued that development-as-usual must end.
“The world is only five years from 2030. The question is not simply what new targets should replace the SDGs, but how we design institutions and financing systems that actually work.
“Workability is the name of the game now—innovative financing instruments, new business models and smarter coalitions that multiply resources rather than ration them,” President Mahama said.
The Accra Reset is led by President Mahama and his co-convenor former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. It proposes a new architecture anchored in sovereignty, workability and shared value.
Health will serve as an entry point and proof of concept. This means transitioning from aid dependency to health sovereignty and building on commitments made at the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra in August 2025.
A Club of Accra coalition will start work to pilot financing innovations and geostrategic dealrooms for investment in health, climate, food security, and job creation.
The launch also saw the unveiling of the Global Presidential Council which will unite a coalition of Heads of State and Government from Africa, Asia, Latin America and beyond to provide political leadership and accountability.
A Global College of Advisors comprising experts from health, finance, innovation and business will also be assembled to design and oversee pilots and financing mechanisms.
Supporters at the launch included political and institutional leaders who affirmed their support for the Accra Reset.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo who is Co-Patron of AfroChampions urged solidarity fit for the new era and a move away from aid dependency.
Gordon Brown called the Reset a plan for the future and endorsed building health sovereignty.
President William Ruto in a speech read on his behalf said the focus should be on financing national ambition and holding the Global Presidential Council accountable for progress toward universal health coverage.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley committed to practical alignment on skills and industrial policy to make pharmaceutical manufacturing viable.
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede Chairman of Access Bank pledged private-sector leadership and financing.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala conveyed institutional support for rewiring global norms.
Concluding the launch President Mahama recalled the Monterrey Consensus of 2001 which helped create GAVI and the Global Fund.
“The world now needs a new vision of multilateralism that moves from wish lists to engines of sustainable value creation,” he said.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
