President John Dramani Mahama has issued a compelling call for a new health narrative in Africa, urging governments to see health not as a cost but as a critical driver of economic progress.
Delivering the keynote address at the African Health Sovereignty Summit at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, President Mahama challenged outdated assumptions about health financing.
“We must reject the outdated notion that health drains our economy,” he declared. “Health is the engine of productivity and the bedrock of inclusive growth. If Africa is to secure its future, we must treat health sovereignty as non-negotiable.”
He emphasized the direct link between healthcare investments and national development outcomes.
“Every malaria case prevented is a day of work regained, every maternal death avoided is a family stabilized, and every vaccinated child is a future secured,” he stated.
The summit, themed “African Health Sovereignty in a Reimagined Global Health Architecture,” has convened African Heads of State, health ministers, international partners, and global health experts. The gathering aims to build a unified African voice for stronger health systems, local vaccine production, equitable access to care, and improved pandemic preparedness.
President Mahama’s address also highlighted the urgency of building self-reliant health systems across the continent.
“Let this summit be the turning point where we choose resilience over reliance, and innovation over inertia,” he urged.
The two-day summit is expected to conclude with a continental declaration committing African nations to shared goals for achieving health sovereignty by 2030.
