President Mahama Launches Accra Reset Report at 81st UN General Assembly

President John Dramani Mahama has officially launched a new report under the Accra Reset initiative, calling for greater control, accountability and self-reliance in global health and development.

The report, titled “A Sovereign Future for Health,” was launched during the Full Circle: Making Global Development Work Again side event held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

The report is the product of a high-level panel established to examine reforms to the global health architecture and governance system.

Addressing the gathering, President Mahama said the Accra Reset was created to respond to what he described as growing vulnerabilities within the global development system, particularly the dependence of countries in the Global South on external financing and decisions made outside their borders.

He identified geostrategic marginalisation, geopolitical vulnerability and donor dependence as three interconnected challenges facing developing countries.

“These are not three separate misfortunes; they are interconnected threats of a broken global system,” he said.

President Mahama argued that countries must strengthen their political authority, productive capacity and financial resilience if they are to take greater responsibility for their development.

He drew a connection between the Accra Reset and Ghana’s Resetting Ghana Agenda, saying his administration was pursuing similar principles through reforms in the economy, fiscal management, governance, industrialisation and public health.

«“A national reset without a global reset leaves us building on shifting sands. Likewise, a global reset without domestic discipline is unfeasible. They are two sides of the same coin,” he said.»

‘No ownership without control’

A major theme of the report and President Mahama’s address was the relationship between ownership and control.

He questioned the effectiveness of development programmes that expect countries to take ownership of outcomes while critical resources and decisions remain largely outside their control.

«“There can be no ownership without control,” he said.»

However, President Mahama stressed that greater national control must also be accompanied by strong accountability.

He said governments seeking greater authority over development resources must be prepared to account to their citizens for how those resources are used.

“If we demand control, we must end it through uncompromising domestic accountability,” he said.

Health sovereignty

President Mahama said health was deliberately chosen as the first major area of focus for the Accra Reset because of its importance to human wellbeing.

He called for stronger local capacity to manufacture essential medicines and other health products, using Ghana’s pharmaceutical sector as an example.

He said Ghana should not simply build health facilities while relying on foreign suppliers for essential medicines and medical supplies.

Instead, he advocated domestic production supported by government procurement and access to regional markets.

The President also highlighted maternal and child health as an important test of the proposed reforms, noting that sub-Saharan Africa continues to account for a significant share of global maternal deaths.

He said initiatives such as the Mother Africa Initiative and the Business United for Mothers, Babies, and Youth (BUMBY) campaign would help bring public policy and corporate responsibility together to protect mothers and children.

From report to action

President Mahama said the launch of A Sovereign Future for Health should mark the beginning of implementation rather than the end of another international discussion.

He said Ghana would work with governments, global health organisations, development finance institutions, philanthropies and private-sector partners to translate the report’s recommendations into country-level programmes.

The proposed partnerships, he said, should strengthen links between research, regulation, local manufacturing and reliable distribution systems.

President Mahama stressed that the Accra Reset was not intended to promote isolationism.

“We are seeking pragmatic interdependence, a mature equal partnership where we see one another as equals,” he said.

As Ghana prepares to assume the chairmanship of the African Union in January 2027, President Mahama said the country would take the Accra Reset agenda into wider African policy discussions.

He also said Ghana would work with the Non-Aligned Movement and the G77 Plus to advance reforms in global development cooperation.