President John Dramani Mahama has hosted top global health leaders at the Jubilee House in Accra for high-level talks on continental public health.
The delegation included Madam Winnie Byanyima, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNAIDS Executive Director, alongside Madam Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA).
Their discussions centered on improving public health cooperation, strengthening immunisation systems, and combating HIV/AIDS and malaria across the African continent.
President Mahama, who is championing the “Accra Reset”, a bold Africa-led initiative designed to reimagine the global health architecture, reiterated the need for Africa to champion its own vaccine production.
He briefed the delegation about the Accra Reset, which he initiated in 2025 to serve as a Global South response to structural inequities in international cooperation, to move African countries and Global South nations away from traditional aid dependency toward multidimensional sovereignty.
Ghana, he said, has embarked on an ambitious initiative to enhance local production of vaccines. President Mahama also informed the UN officials about the launch of the Free Primary Health Care programme (FPHC) in Ghana, as part of efforts to accelerate the country’s progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
He explained that under the FPHC programme, all citizens are eligible for free basic medical services at primary facilities, such as CHPS compounds and polyclinics, without a need for a health insurance card.
Madam Byanyima, on her part,, praised President Mahama for championing health sovereignty both on the African continent and on the global stage.
African Union Extraordinary Summit:
Ghana is currently hosting an Extraordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Accra, where African leaders are deliberating on measures to strengthen healthcare systems and advance Universal Health Coverage across the continent.
The two-day summit, which ends tomorrow, July 22, 2026, is under the theme: “Advancing Justice, Equity and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, TB, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases and Conditions in Africa.”
Participants include Ministers of Health, Finance and Foreign Affairs, the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, development partners, civil society organisations, youth representatives and private sector stakeholders.
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