US Embassy Breaks Silence on Ghana’s Rejection of Health Compact

The United States Embassy has responded to Ghana’s decision to reject a proposed US-Ghana health compact, following renewed public discussion over the terms of the agreement.

Ghana rejected the proposed deal earlier this year after concerns were raised over provisions relating to sensitive health data, counterpart funding and the regulation of medical products.

US Embassy Responds

The US State Department has maintained that it does not disclose details of bilateral negotiations, but said the United States remains committed to strengthening its partnership with Ghana.

“We continue to look for ways to strengthen the bilateral partnership between our two countries,” a State Department spokesperson said, according to Reuters.

The response comes after President John Dramani Mahama recently explained Ghana’s decision to turn down the proposed compact.

Why Ghana Rejected the Deal

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Mahama said Ghana’s Ministry of Health had reviewed the proposed agreement before it was presented to Cabinet.

According to the President, concerns were raised over provisions that he said required Ghana to provide its pathogen profile and medical records.

He also said the proposed arrangement required Ghana to provide counterpart funding and raised concerns about the inspection of medicines and other medical products entering the country under the programme.

Mahama described the terms as unacceptable and said Cabinet rejected the compact after reviewing the provisions.

Data Privacy at the Centre of Dispute

Ghana’s concerns over health data had previously been reported as a major reason for rejecting the agreement.

The Data Protection Commission’s executive director, Arnold Kavaarpuo, told the Associated Press that the proposed arrangement could have given US entities access to sensitive health information without what Ghana considered adequate safeguards.

He said the proposal covered not only health datasets but also metadata, dashboards, reporting tools, data models and data dictionaries.

$109 Million Health Support

The proposed compact was reportedly worth about $109 million in US funding to Ghana over five years, with additional investment expected from the Ghanaian government.

The agreement formed part of a broader US effort to restructure its international health assistance under the Trump administration’s “America First Global Health Strategy.”

The strategy places greater emphasis on recipient countries increasing their own health-sector financing while transitioning away from long-term dependence on US assistance.

Ghana Chooses a Different Path

Following the rejection, Mahama said Ghana would focus on strengthening its own health financing and production capacity while continuing to work with international partners.

The President has also linked the government’s broader Accra Reset initiative to efforts to build greater health-sector self-reliance, including local production of medicines and vaccines and stronger domestic health systems.

The latest comments from the US side indicate that, despite the disagreement over the proposed compact, Washington says it remains interested in maintaining its bilateral relationship with Ghana.

For now, the future of a revised US-Ghana health agreement remains open, with Ghana having indicated that it is willing to engage international partners while seeking arrangements it considers acceptable for the country’s health system and data governance.