President John Dramani Mahama has urged countries in the Global South to take stronger control of their health systems, stressing the need to reduce reliance on foreign aid and develop more self-sustaining, resilient healthcare structures.
Delivering the keynote address at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Mr. Mahama said the meeting should not be about dwelling on past difficulties but about shaping a new direction toward self-reliance in healthcare delivery.
“We have more global health organisations than ever, and yet country-level fragmentation has worsened. We do not come to Geneva to mourn the past. We come to build a future where a country’s health is not a byproduct of charity but the result of sovereign capability,” he said.
“This desire to take our health destinies into our hands imposes important responsibilities on us as African leaders,” he added.
The President made these comments while also raising concerns about the increasing effects of reductions in international health aid to African nations, including Ghana.
Mr. Mahama further revealed that Ghana had experienced a loss of around $78 million after the United States decided to halt certain categories of aid to African countries.
