NEW YORK, United States: Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has launched a new report calling for greater control by countries in the Global South over health financing, pharmaceutical production and national health priorities.
Mahama launched the High Level Panel Report of the Accra Reset, titled A Sovereign Future for Health, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The report sets out proposals for what Mahama described as a new global bargain between developing countries and their international partners, with greater national ownership of health programmes supported by stronger control over resources and production.
The Ghanaian president said the initiative followed a decision made a year earlier through the Accra Reset to challenge a health financing model in which countries in the Global South often depend heavily on external donors.
“One year ago, through the Accra Reset, we rejected the idea that the health, dignity, and future of our people should remain perpetually tied to foreign donor magnanimity.”
Mahama said countries had for years been encouraged to take ownership of their health programmes while major decisions on funding and priorities remained outside their control.
“For decades, nations of the Global South have been asked to practice “country ownership” of health programs while distant boardrooms retained complete control over funding and priorities.”
He used an analogy to describe the situation.
“To put it plainly, we were handed a broken cauldron and asked to own a soup cooked entirely in someone else’s kitchen.”
According to Mahama, the Accra Reset seeks to change that arrangement by linking ownership to control over the resources and systems required to deliver health services.
“Today, through the Accra Reset, we declare unequivocally that there can be NO ownership without control.”
The president also acknowledged that greater sovereignty over health systems would require stronger accountability within individual countries.
“However, sovereignty is not a blank check. If we demand control, we must earn it through strict domestic accountability.”
He linked the initiative to Ghana’s Resetting Ghana Agenda, saying his administration was working to strengthen fiscal management, address corruption and develop local industrial capacity.
A key part of that approach, he said, was increasing domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing so that essential medicines could be produced locally rather than relying primarily on foreign assistance.
The report proposes a New Global Bargain based on three central principles: ownership supported by meaningful control over resources and production capabilities, cooperation built around human dignity and equal partnerships, and domestic accountability to ensure public resources reach citizens.
Mahama said health had been chosen as the first major area of focus, with particular attention being given to maternal mortality across Sub Saharan Africa.
He pointed to initiatives including Mother Africa and Business United for Mothers, Babies and Youth, known as BUMBY, as mechanisms through which commitments under the initiative could translate into practical support for mothers, babies and young people.
The president said the goal was to ensure that international cooperation produced tangible protection for communities facing some of the continent’s most serious health challenges.
Mahama also thanked members of the initiative’s Guardians’ Circle, including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla.
He also recognised the High Level Panel co chairs and international partners involved in the initiative.
“My profound gratitude goes to our Guardians’ Circle, Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Laura Chinchilla, the High-Level Panel Co-Chairs, and our global partners for their unwavering commitment.”
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