Mahama rejects US $100m health compact, cites sovereignty concerns

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has defended his administration’s decision to reject a proposed health compact from the United States, saying some of the conditions attached to the package were unacceptable and undermined Ghana’s sovereignty.

The proposed compact, reportedly valued at about $100 million, was intended to replace some U.S. health aid funding to Ghana. However, Mahama said his government rejected the offer after identifying provisions it considered problematic.

Speaking at a Council on Foreign Relations engagement on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Mahama said the Ministry of Health reviewed the compact before presenting it to Cabinet for consideration.

According to him, Cabinet flagged several provisions, including an alleged requirement for Ghana to provide the United States with information on the country’s pathogen profile and access to medical records.

“One, it says that we shall give the United States our pathogen profile,” Mahama said.

He added that the agreement also contained a provision requiring Ghana to provide medical records, describing the demand as unusual.

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“And it also says we should give our medical records. I mean, who takes another country’s medical records? And so that was strange,” he said.

Mahama further alleged that the proposed arrangement required Ghana to commit a certain amount of domestic funding to healthcare while restricting the country’s Food and Drugs Authority from inspecting certain medicines and medical products supplied under the programme.

The President said the conditions were unacceptable to his administration.

“I mean, it was humiliating. And so it was the compact that was thrown out in record time in our cabinet,” he stated.

Mahama said Cabinet subsequently directed the Health Minister to notify the U.S. ambassador that Ghana would not accept the package.

He maintained that Ghana was capable of managing its healthcare needs without accepting conditions it considered inconsistent with its status as a sovereign and democratic country.

“And so of course we rejected it. And we asked the health minister to inform the U.S. ambassador that we didn’t need it. We’ll manage ourselves,” he said.

Mahama said the decision reflected Ghana’s determination to protect its sovereignty and ensure that foreign assistance does not come with conditions that compromise the country’s ability to regulate its healthcare system.

The President’s comments come amid continuing adjustments in U.S. foreign assistance and health programmes, with countries that have historically received American health support facing changes in funding arrangements