President John Dramani Mahama has called on African countries to break away from donor dependency and build strong, self-reliant healthcare systems capable of meeting the continent’s growing health needs.
Speaking at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, President Mahama said Africa must take control of its healthcare future by investing in local manufacturing, sustainable financing and stronger health institutions.
According to him, recent cuts in international aid and overseas development assistance have exposed the vulnerability of many African health systems.
“These cuts in humanitarian assistance and ODA, as painful as they are, serve as the final, clear signal that the old system of donor-dependency is past its sell-by date,” he stated.
President Mahama said the time had come for Africa to transition from dependence on foreign support to what he described as “health sovereignty.”
“We come to build a future where a country’s health is not a byproduct of charity, but a result of sovereign capability,” he said.
The President explained that health sovereignty means countries having the practical ability to finance their own healthcare systems, regulate quality standards, produce medicines locally and manage their own health data.
“By sovereignty, we do not mean isolationism. We are advocating the practical capacity of a nation to finance its own core functions, regulate its own quality, produce its own medicines, and govern its own data,” he stressed.
President Mahama further expressed concern over Africa’s low vaccine manufacturing capacity despite carrying a significant portion of the world’s disease burden.
“A continent that manufactures less than one per cent of its vaccines while carrying twenty-five per cent of the global disease burden is not sovereign; it is vulnerable,” he noted.
Highlighting Ghana’s efforts, the President pointed to reforms in the National Health Insurance Scheme, the implementation of the Free Primary Healthcare Programme and the launch of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, also known as MahamaCares.
He also disclosed that Ghana’s 2026 budget has committed GHS 34 billion to the health sector while expanding healthcare coverage to about 20 million people.
President Mahama used the occasion to promote the “Accra Reset Initiative,” a movement aimed at redefining Africa’s role in global health governance and strengthening the continent’s healthcare independence.
He concluded by urging African leaders and global institutions to support reforms that prioritise practical healthcare delivery, resilient supply chains and local pharmaceutical production across the continent.
Source: Mubarak Yakubu
