President John Dramani Mahama has raised alarm over the devastating impact of abrupt global aid cuts on Ghana’s community health programmes, revealing that the country’s flagship health outreach system, the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS), was brought to its knees as a result.
Speaking at the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra on August 5, President Mahama said the recent sharp decline in global development assistance, particularly in 2023, had immediate and far-reaching consequences across Africa, and Ghana was no exception.
“In Ghana, our community-based health delivery model, the CHPS programme, was brought to its knees by abrupt funding withdrawals,” he stated.
According to him, the cuts led to stalled maternal health programmes, delayed vaccine supplies, and a lack of essential medicines on clinic shelves; all of which disrupted life-saving health interventions.
He described the situation as “not merely a funding gap” but rather “a crisis of imagination, a vacuum of solidarity, and a deep failure of shared responsibility.”
President Mahama stressed that the setbacks resulting from funding shocks underscored the urgency for Africa to take full ownership of its health systems.
“Above all, it is a question of sovereignty – the right of African nations to determine their health priorities, marshal their capacities, and lead with their own vision.
The president’s remarks formed part of a broader call for reforms to the global health governance architecture, which he criticised as outdated and unresponsive to the evolving realities of African nations.
The summit, held under the theme “African Health Sovereignty in a Reimagined Global Health Governance Architecture”, brought together African leaders and global health actors to propose new frameworks that reflect Africa’s priorities and leadership.
President Mahama used the platform to advocate for greater investment in domestic health systems and announced the establishment of a Presidential High-Level Task Force on Global Health Governance, alongside the launch of the SUSTAIN Initiative; an African-led platform to align national budgets with health priorities and reduce donor dependency.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
