On 5 August 2025, Accra will host a landmark gathering of African Heads of State, policymakers, and global health stakeholders at the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit.
Convened by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, this summit will serve as a call to reimagine global health governance amid a rapidly shifting geopolitical and economic landscape. It aims to foster a new era of health sovereignty rooted in national ownership, investment, and leadership.
Progress and Urgency: Why this High-Level Meeting.
Significant progress has been made in global health over recent decades: child mortality has been halved since 1990, maternal deaths have decreased by over 40% since 2000, HIV/AIDS deaths have been halved since 2010, and 1.4 billion people now enjoy healthier lives thanks to improved tobacco control, cleaner air, and better access to clean water, sanitation, and healthcare.
However, these gains are at risk. Shifting geopolitics, diminished multilateralism, reduced donor funding, and emerging health threats have exposed significant structural flaws in the global health system. The current global health governance framework—designed in a different era—no longer adequately reflects today’s political, economic, or demographic realities.
Reform is now crucial; it is urgent both nationally and internationally. Countries must take greater responsibility for their health governance and funding. Globally, there is an immediate need to overhaul health governance systems.
In response, this African-led global gathering will advance multiple initiatives to mobilise global partners and global consensus to address these challenges.
Summit Deliverables
The Summit will deliberate and formally endorse The Accra Initiative. This bold, action-oriented outcome document will establish shared principles, benchmarks, and a roadmap for reforming global health governance in alignment with national priorities for health sovereignty.
Key outcomes of the Summit will include:
1. Creation of a Presidential High-Level Panel to design a roadmap for a re-imagined global health governance architecture aligned with national and international efforts.
2. Commitment to core principles of inclusivity, leadership, accountability, resilience, sustainable funding, and cross-sector collaboration.
3. Launch of the SUSTAIN Initiative to promote country-led and investment-driven health systems, powered by domestic resources, private sector engagement, philanthropic partnerships, and technical expertise.
4. Endorsement of the Accra Compact, articulating Africa’s vision for health sovereignty and a more equitable global health order.
This Summit builds on the ongoing efforts of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and African Union institutions to improve health financing and continental health coordination. However, it also calls for urgent reform of global health governance to better reflect the realities of a changed world, where Africa’s voice and leadership must take centre stage.
The Summit follows President Mahama’s passionate speech in June 2025 at the Global Summit on Health and Prosperity in Brussels. It draws inspiration from his leadership during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, where he directed regional efforts to control the epidemic, showcasing Africa’s capacity to respond to crises with unity and determination. That same spirit of continental and global solidarity now underpins the Accra Compact.
“Africa must take charge of its health destiny—not in isolation, but through determined, coordinated action. This Summit is our moment to lead not only in financing our systems but also in reshaping the rules that govern global health—rules that must reflect the voices and realities of our people”, President John Mahama said about the Summit.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.
