Mahama pushes ‘health sovereignty’ agenda, says Global South needs control over resources

President John Dramani Mahama has called for a fundamental shift in the way global health cooperation is structured, insisting that countries in the Global South cannot truly own their health systems without control over their financing, resources and production capacity. He made the call in New York on Monday, September 21, after launching 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. The report sets out proposals for reforming the global health architecture around stronger national and regional capabilities, greater domestic ownership and more accountable partnerships with international development institutions.

President Mahama said the initiative was aimed at moving developing countries away from a model in which critical health programmes remain heavily dependent on external funding and decisions made outside their jurisdictions. “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,” he said in a Facebook post announcing the report. He argued that the concept of “country ownership” had often failed to give countries meaningful control over the resources and decisions shaping their health systems. “To put it plainly, we were handed a broken cauldron and asked to own a soup cooked entirely in someone else’s kitchen,” he said. “Today, through the Accra Reset, we declare unequivocally that there can be NO ownership without control. ” Mahama links sovereignty to accountability While advocating greater control for developing countries, President Mahama said sovereignty must be matched by stronger domestic accountability. He said Ghana’s own reform…