President John Dramani Mahama has called on African leaders to honour a 25-year-old commitment to allocate 15 percent of national budgets to healthcare, urging governments across the continent to move beyond promises and deliver practical investments that improve health outcomes.
He made the call during the African Union’s Extraordinary Session on Health held in Accra, where Ghana hosted leaders and representatives to deliberate on the future of health financing, local manufacturing, governance, and leadership in Africa’s health sector.
The President said the commitments made at the summit must translate into real improvements for citizens through stronger financing mechanisms, accountable systems, and sustainable healthcare investments. He cautioned African leaders against adopting another declaration that remains on paper without producing tangible results for communities.
Mahama recalls 25 year Abuja health commitment
Addressing the gathering, President Mahama reflected on the Abuja Declaration made 25 years ago, when African governments pledged to dedicate 15 percent of their national budgets to healthcare. “That promise is now old enough to have children of its own. So the pledges we make this afternoon must be physical not lyrical,” he stated.
According to President Mahama, Africa’s health challenges require bold financing decisions that go beyond political statements. He urged governments to create mechanisms that ensure health investments remain protected despite changes in political leadership.
“Through the African leadership meeting commitments and the programme for financing and investing in African health, through debt for health arrangements, solidarity instruments and protected budget lines that survive electoral cycles, let each of us bring the ministry of finance to the health table and keep it seated right at that table”.
President John Dramani Mahama
President highlights value of preventive healthcare
President Mahama also emphasized the economic importance of preventive healthcare, describing it as one of the most valuable investments governments can make. “Prevention repays us ninefold. Show me a better bond in the economy market than prevention,” he said.
He argued that stronger preventive healthcare systems would reduce pressure on national health facilities while improving productivity and quality of life across African societies.
The President said the summit provided an opportunity for leaders to discuss critical areas including local health manufacturing, financing, governance, and leadership. However, he cautioned against producing another document that fails to create meaningful change.
President Mahama, who hosted the summit, made a direct appeal to African leaders to ensure the outcome of the meeting was backed by commitment and accountability. The President said the success of the summit would not be measured by the language contained in the declaration but by the impact citizens experience in their daily lives.
“Many of the people we serve will not get to read our declaration but they must feel it. They must feel it in stock shelves. They must feel it in efficient clinics, in running taps, in punctual diagnosis.”
President John Dramani Mahama
He added that healthcare improvements should bring dignity and confidence to families across the continent. “They must feel it in mother and child poses for cameras with a smile and pride well welling in their chest that they have been well looked after.”
AU adopts accountability framework for health commitments
President Mahama welcomed the establishment of a continental monitoring, reporting, and accountability framework under the Accra Declaration, describing it as an important step toward ensuring African countries track progress on their commitments.
“We commit to an annual scorecard to be regularly brought to this very assembly for peer review amongst us and I ask that we embrace that scorecard as the mark of a union that has grown confident enough to grade itself”.
President John Dramani Mahama
The President said Africa must strengthen its institutions and take ownership of its development agenda. “We are no longer under colonial adult supervision,” he declared. He referenced a Ghanaian saying to emphasize the importance of collective decision-making among African states.
Mahama calls for Africa’s health transformation
President Mahama concluded his address by framing the summit as an opportunity for African leaders to advance a new era of cooperation and self-reliance in healthcare. He said the continent must ensure that decisions taken in Accra contribute to better health outcomes and stronger systems for future generations.
“Let me welcome you once again excellencies to Ghana. Ghana is your home. This is Africa’s day. I leave you with the immortal words of our first president again Kwame Nkrumah and he said ‘think like people of action and act like people of thought’.”
President John Dramani Mahama
President Mahama’s address placed renewed attention on Africa’s long-standing health financing commitments and challenged governments to convert policy promises into sustained investments that improve healthcare access and outcomes across the continent.
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