President John Dramani Mahama has stressed that Ghana’s plan to overhaul its health system should centre on developing local production of vital medicines and supplies rather than depending heavily on overseas donors.
Speaking in New York at the launch of the High-Level Panel Report titled A Sovereign Future for Health, part of the Accra Reset initiative, Mahama argued that true reform goes beyond constructing hospitals.
The report outlines ten practical steps to reshape the global health system and help Global South nations build stronger, more self-reliant health services.
He warned that heavy reliance on foreign donors for essential medical goods leaves poorer countries exposed and restricts their power to set their own health agendas.
“When we talk about resetting Ghana’s health sector, we are not just talking about putting up hospitals and then waiting for donors to send vaccines, IV fluids or medicines,” he said.
Mahama called for a stronger domestic pharmaceutical sector, with government commitments to buy locally made products and opportunities to sell into regional markets.
The same approach, he added, should shape the wider Accra Reset, which aims to give Global South countries more say over health funding, manufacturing and policy.
“A national reset without a global reset is like building on unstable ground. And a global reset without discipline at home will not work,” he noted.
He also linked greater national control of health systems to strict accountability in handling public funds: “Ownership without control is empty, but control without full accountability to the people is unacceptable.”
