President John Dramani Mahama said the country is “leading by example” in urging African governments to strengthen domestic healthcare systems and reduce reliance on donor institutions, citing increased budgetary commitments to the sector.
Speaking at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva on Monday, Mahama said his administration’s 2026 budget allocated substantial funding to health as part of efforts to demonstrate what he described as “health sovereignty” in practice.
“In Ghana, we are leading by example. Our 2026 budget committed GHS 34 billion to health and expanded coverage to 20 million people. We are not lecturing from theory. We are building the evidence of what a sovereign health system looks like,” he said.
President Mahama called on global health leaders to shift from policy discussions to implementation, urging reforms in how health systems are structured and financed.
“First, do not let ‘reform’ be a ceiling. If we are to fix the system, we must be brave enough to look at institutional mandates and mergers without fear. Second, invest in execution. The world does not need more communiqués; it needs deal rooms, local factories, and resilient supply chains. Third, measure success by the clinic, not the conference,” he said.
He said global health progress should ultimately be judged by outcomes at the patient level, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
“The only metric that matters is whether a child in the Global South has a reasonable chance of survival as a child in the Global North,” he said.
The president argued that the existing global health architecture, developed in a different era, was weakening and being replaced by a new model centred on self-determination and equal partnerships.
“The old global health order, built in the aftermath of a different century, is tottering. A new order is rising,” he said.
Mahama said the emerging system should be defined by “agency, not aid,” and “partnership, not paternalism,” adding that reforms should prioritise long-term impact over immediate political gains.
Citing an African proverb, he said the benefits of reforms may not be enjoyed by their initiators.
“In Africa, we have a saying that the one who plants a tree does not always sit in its shade… Let our seriousness today be the shade they rest in tomorrow,” he said.
Source: 3news.com
