President John Dramani Mahama has underscored the need for African leaders to devise strategies to ensure the well-being of their citizens.
This is because external funding for healthcare and humanitarian assistance on the continent is declining rapidly.
He cited the decisions by the US to cut US$8 billion from the budget for international assistance, and aid cuts by NATO allies and Europe in order to meet the target of five per cent of GDP spending for defense and overseas development assistance.
“If we do not take our health destiny into our own hands by shaping new strategies and partnerships, our citizens will be left without medicines, without vaccines and without hope, and there will be a reversal in the health outcomes in Africa,” President Mahama stated.
Mr Mahama made this call in New York, USA, on Monday when he joined his colleagues in a meeting of heads of state and government of the Africa Centre for Disease Control on the sidelines of the ongoing UN General Assembly.
The meeting was on the theme “Securing Africa’s Health Sovereignty: Political Leadership for Sustainable Health Financing, Local Manufacturing, and Pandemic Preparedness”.
According to President Mahama, the funding gaps had made it imperative for Africa to step up to the plate and redirect resources to where they mattered most.
“We must cut wasteful expenditure and channel funds to improving health facilities, training more health professionals, producing our medicines and our own vaccines.”
In view of this, he said Ghana was not just talking about sovereignty, but working to make it real.
For example, he itemised the passage of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Act, the setting up the National Vaccine Institute, backed with GH¢75 million to make Ghana a hub for vaccine research and manufacturing for the region and the expected roll-out of a Free Primary Health Care programme.
He said his administration had also uncapped the National Health Insurance Fund to restore GH¢3.5 billion of health funding which he stated was previously swept into the consolidated fund for consumption.
“These are practical steps, demonstrating that when political will is strong, sovereignty is achievable,” he stated.
Africa, President Mahama said, must not only be invited to global health discussions but must be a co-convener, a co-designer, and a co-owner of solutions.
“Colleagues, let us move from words to action. As the world steps back, let Africa step forward. Let us invest in our people’s health by investing in our health systems.
“Health is not a cost. It is the engine of productivity and the foundation of sovereignty,” he emphasized.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
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