Let’s push health sovereignty agenda
Yesterday, President John Dramani Mahama addressed the 79th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, with a clear message that Africa can no longer ignore: the era of donor-dependent health systems is over (see front page).
President Mahama is justified to argue that the old model is ending, and that countries must have the courage to build the next one.
The continental response is beginning to take shape.
And rightfully so, the Accra Reset, launched at the African Health Sovereignty Conference in August 2025, is an attempt to coordinate a shift away from dependency.
By outlining concrete domestic steps to fund and manage healthcare at home, Ghana is positioning itself as one of the continent’s clearest voices for health sovereignty. The challenge now is to match the rhetoric with sustained delivery.
The most immediate win is financial.
The uncapping of the National Health Insurance Scheme fund has unlocked an additional GH¢3 billion, about $300 million, for healthcare investment.
That injection matters because funding gaps have long been the reason promised policies stall at the implementation stage. More important is how the money will be protected.
Parallel to the NHIS reforms is the operationalisation of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, MahamaCares.
Designed to cover high-cost treatment for non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular conditions, cancers, liver disease and renal failure, the fund addresses a gap that has pushed many families into catastrophic spending.
The longer-term ambition is even bolder. Ghana is on track to exit GAVI funding for vaccines by 2030. For a country that once relied heavily on external support for immunisation, that timeline signals confidence in domestic fiscal capacity and health system management.
President Mahama’s hope that Ghana will transition from recipient to donor is not wishful thinking if current reforms hold.
The Free Primary Health Care Programme, which removes financial barriers at the rural level, is already drawing praise from WHO.
Removing user fees at the point of care is one of the fastest ways to improve early detection and reduce mortality, especially for mothers and children.
These moves come against a sobering backdrop.
Ghana lost $78 million after the closure of USAID programmes that supported malaria control, maternal and child health, nutrition and HIV/AIDS treatment.
Global humanitarian assistance has fallen by 40 per cent. The numbers underline the risk of building health systems around volatile donor flows.
But as the President warned in Geneva, reform will be meaningless if it is toothless.
A draft resolution before the World Health Assembly that protects “organisational mandates” and bars recommendations for mergers or consolidations risks turning reform into ritual.
If institutions are insulated from change, the system will continue to prioritise institutional comfort over human survival.
For Ghana, the next step is execution. Unlocking GH¢3 billion is one thing; ensuring it translates into shorter waiting times, stocked pharmacies, functional equipment and motivated staff is another.
The deployment of AI and digital tools to curb fraud and speed up claims must be scaled and audited transparently.
MahamaCares must be insulated from political interference and run with clinical and financial accountability.
The Free Primary Health Care Programme needs reliable supply chains and health worker retention strategies, especially in rural areas.
The measure of success will be simple and human: does a child born in Tamale or Cape Coast have the same chance of survival and healthy development as a child born in Geneva or London?
If Ghana’s reforms close that gap, the country will not only exit GAVI on its own terms but also become a model for others navigating the same transition.
The path to health sovereignty is neither quick nor easy.
It requires fiscal discipline, policy consistency and zero tolerance for corruption in the health sector.
But Ghana has now shown that it is possible to start the journey.
The rest of Africa will be watching.
If Ghana can sustain this momentum, it will demonstrate that health sovereignty is not a slogan but a strategy.
And that strategy begins with trusting our own people, funding our own systems, and refusing to accept that survival should depend on the goodwill of donors.
