Mahama Launches Accra Reset Health Sovereignty Report At UNGA

President John Dramani Mahama has 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.

Describing it as a defining milestone in the push for self-reliance in the Global South, President Mahama said the initiative rejects the long-standing model where the health and future of Global South nations remain tied to foreign donor magnanimity.

“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. 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 said.

“To put it plainly, we were handed a broken cauldron and asked to own a soup cooked entirely in someone else’s kitchen.”

The President declared that there can be no ownership without control, stressing that sovereignty must be backed by accountability.

“Today, through the Accra Reset, we declare unequivocally that there can be NO ownership without control. However, sovereignty is not a blank check. If we demand control, we must earn it through strict domestic accountability,” he noted.

He said under the Resetting Ghana Agenda, the government is tightening fiscal management, fighting corruption, and building local industrial capacity to ensure domestic pharmaceutical companies manufacture essential medicines locally instead of waiting on foreign aid.

According to President Mahama, the report sets out a clear path for a New Global Bargain built on ownership backed by real control over resources and production capabilities, cooperation defined by human dignity and mature, equal partnerships, and absolute domestic accountability to ensure public resources serve citizens down to the last pesewa.

He said health has been selected as the first battleground, with a direct focus on ending unacceptable maternal mortality rates across Sub-Saharan Africa through initiatives like Mother Africa and Business United for Mothers, Babies and Youth (BUMBY).

President Mahama expressed gratitude to the Guardians’ Circle, Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Laura Chinchilla, the High-Level Panel Co-Chairs, and global partners for their commitment.

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