Donor era is over, Mahama announces Ghana’s health sovereignty shift as US aid freeze costs $78m.
John Dramani Mahama has announced that Ghana is shifting away from donor dependency by increasing domestic healthcare financing and strengthening health sovereignty. Speaking at the 79th World Health Assembly, he said uncapping the National Health Insurance Scheme fund had released an additional GH¢3 billion for healthcare investment, while digital and AI tools were being deployed to detect fraud and improve reimbursements to service providers. President Mahama also highlighted the rollout of the Free Primary Health Care Programme and the operationalisation of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, known as MahamaCares, to support treatment for non-communicable diseases. He noted that Ghana lost $78 million following the closure of some United States Agency for International Development programmes and stressed that the decline in global health aid signalled the end of the donor-dependent era. He further stated that Ghana aimed to transition from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance support by 2030 and called for meaningful reforms in the global health system focused on improving healthcare delivery and survival outcomes in developing countries.
