President Mahama urges Global North to back Accra Reset at Davos

President John Dramani Mahama has appealed to advanced nations in the Global North to support the Accra Reset Initiative, describing it as a new framework for equitable global partnership and shared prosperity.

The President made the appeal when he formally unveiled the Accra Reset Initiative at the Davos Commitment on the sidelines of the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“Friends, we didn’t come here to ask for charity. We came to propose a global partnership of the willing, based on a shared vision and mutual respect,” he stated.

“The Accra Reset is building the architecture for a new kind of cooperation. One where Global South countries don’t just receive programmes but co-design them with our partners in the global north. Where we don’t just attract investment but shape it around our priorities. We want to create Prosperity Spheres across regional platforms where countries coordinate on investment, infrastructure, and jobs.”

Touching on the legacy he hoped to leave behind, President Mahama said he envisioned a continent where young people would no longer risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean because opportunities existed at home.

“We want to leave systems that work, industries that thrive, and nations that stand tall. Ghana can’t do it alone. Africa can’t do it alone,” he said.

“This is a call to every leader in this room. If you believe in a world where prosperity is shared, not just based on narrow interests, join us. If you believe the Global South deserves partnership, not a pity, join us. If you believe the next chapter of human progress will be written in Accra, Nairobi, Kigali, Abuja, and Cairo, join us.”

The President stressed that the Accra Reset was not about seeking permission but about building momentum for collective action.

Recalling past global cooperation, President Mahama noted that 20 years ago, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and several world leaders, including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, made a compelling case that HIV/AIDS was killing millions in Africa and required a coordinated global response.

He said that courage led to the creation of the Global Fund, which saved millions of lives in Africa and around the world, because leaders chose to act together with urgency and without excuses.

“Today, I am not so sure,” he said, citing cuts in funding by the United States to the United Nations system and other global organisations that had saved millions of lives.

“We face an unpredictable world. This is why Africa must be responsible for its destiny. Today, we face a different pandemic: the pandemic of unfulfilled potential,” he added.

President Mahama pointed to millions of young people without jobs, fragile health systems that collapse at the first crisis, and economies that extract resources without building lasting value.

“If we could mobilise the world to fight a disease, why can’t we mobilise to fight poverty? To fight dependency? To fight the systems that keep brilliant young Africans locked out of the future?”

He said Ghana was demonstrating that effective execution mattered more than excuses.

“We’re cutting government spending and have reduced the size of government to a record low: 58 ministers and deputy ministers,” he said.

“We’re digitising services to end corruption. We’re training young people for tomorrow’s jobs, not yesterday. We have renegotiated our debt so we can invest in our people, not just service loans. This is the ‘Resetting Ghana’ agenda.”

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who leads the Guardian Circle of the Accra Initiative, said the intention was to embed the initiative within the North–South Dialogue to engage development partners on critical reforms and concrete projects, including improving access to health facilities and technology.

“The future will not be given to the unprepared. It will be negotiated. It will be built. And it will belong to those who prepare, unite, and organise for it,” he said.