Ghana rejected US health compact over data and procurement conditions, Mahama says

Ghana rejected a proposed United States health compact after its government objected to conditions covering sensitive health data, counterpart funding and the inspection of medicines, President John Mahama has said. Mahama explained the decision during a conversation at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Friday, according to Graphic Online. The proposed agreement was intended to replace health funding previously provided through the United States Agency for International Development.

He said Ghana followed due process, with the Ministry of Health reviewing the document before submitting an information paper to Cabinet. Among the provisions flagged, he said, were requirements for Ghana to provide the United States with its pathogen profile and medical records. Mahama also said the compact required Ghana to commit a specified amount as counterpart funding.

He added that medicines and other medical products supplied under the programme would not have been subject to inspection by Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority. He described the terms as humiliating and said Cabinet rejected the agreement quickly. The president said the Health Minister was instructed to tell the US ambassador that Ghana would manage without the arrangement.

Ghana had rejected the bilateral deal earlier in 2026 after negotiations broke down over concerns about sensitive health data, Reuters reported in April. The proposed agreement would have provided about $109m in US health assistance over five years, according to a source cited in the report. Mahama said the withdrawal of $174m programmed into Ghana’s budget had created funding gaps, including an annual health shortfall reported at $74m.

He linked the decision to the Accra Reset initiative and called for stronger African health systems and greater local capacity to produce medicines and vaccines.