Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, has announced the establishment of the Presidential High-Level Task Force on Global Health Governance and the Sustain Initiative.
These two initiatives are designed to strengthen Ghana’s health financing and amplify Africa’s voice in global health reforms.
The announcement was made on August 5, 2025, during the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra.
Making the announcement on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, during the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra, President Mahama explained that the Initiative stands for Scaling Up Sovereign Transitions and Institutional Networks.
He noted that the task force would serve as a platform to engage both global and continental partners in reshaping health governance systems, with the goal of responding to today’s realities rather than relying on outdated structures.
He said the Sustain Initiative, would also align with national budgets with health prioritise to help mobilise domestic, diaspora, and philanthropic funding into health systems. It will also support cross-border learning and improve accountability.
“The world has changed, but global health governance has not kept pace,” said President Mahama. “We are called to redesign a system that has for too long ignored Africa’s voice, needs, and innovations.”
With external shocks such as pandemics, conflicts, climate crises, and economic instability highlighting a system under strain, President Mahama emphasized that these pressures demand a new approach that prioritizes resilience, fairness, and human dignity.
He referenced the significant drop in global development assistance in 2023, which affected healthcare delivery in Africa, including Ghana, where funding cuts disrupted maternal health services, delayed vaccines, and left hospitals with drug shortages.
“In Ghana, our community-based health delivery system, known as the CHPS Compound Programme, nearly collapsed after donor withdrawals,” he said.
Mahama revealed that government, has, since the donor withdrawals, had taken steps to explore domestic sources to protect the health sector. “We have uncapped our National Health Insurance Scheme financing, opening up an additional GH¢3.5 billion for broader coverage,” he stated.
With technical support from the World Health Organisation, President Mahama further disclosed that Ghana would soon introduce a new primary healthcare programme.
He said the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had committed to sending a team to support the design process.
He further announced plans to deploy community health volunteers to promote preventive care and wellness services.
Sharing a local example, Mr Mahama said a young mother in Dodowa had survived childbirth complications because the local CHPS facility was digitally linked to a regional hospital. “This is not a future vision. It is already happening. This is health sovereignty in action,” he said.
He argued that governments must treat health spending as an investment, not a cost. “Health is wealth. We must change the thinking that health weakens economies,” he said.
He also called for stronger support for platforms such as PanaBIOS for health verification, Propa for supply chain monitoring, and BioNTech’s vaccine development efforts.
Speaking on the Accra Declaration for Health Sovereignty, which was under discussion at the summit, Mr Mahama described it as more than a policy paper. “It is a moral call to action. It is a strategic milestone for Africa,” he said.
He ended his remarks by urging African governments to take control of their health systems.
“Let Africa rise and take responsibility. Health is not a luxury. It is our freedom, our dignity, and our most valuable public good.”
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