President Mahama urges African leaders to unite in tackling healthcare challenges

President John Mahama called on African leaders, development partners and private sector players to work together more closely to address the continent's healthcare challenges while co-chairing a high-level session on rethinking health sovereignty on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. He warned against fragmented approaches that could slow progress. He said the "Accra Reset" agenda was developed in response to declining global support for healthcare and humanitarian interventions, adding that African countries needed to take greater responsibility for their healthcare systems. He stated, "I believe that everybody is familiar with the Accra Reset. We were motivated to come together to take our destiny into our own hands based on what the global realities were."

President Mahama highlighted the continent's heavy dependence on imported medical products, stating that 70% of pharmaceuticals in Africa are imported, and 90% of vaccines are imported. He also said that Africa bears 25% of the global disease burden, yet only 3% of pharmaceutical products are produced in Africa. He acknowledged that rising debt burdens across many African countries remained a major obstacle to increased domestic investment in health and other social sectors. He asked, "If you are spending 50% of your revenue servicing debt, how much is left for education, health, agriculture and all the things that create a decent life for your people?"

Further engagements are expected at the upcoming World Health Summit. President Mahama clarified that the Accra Reset initiative is not about isolating Africa from international cooperation.