President John Dramani Mahama has called for a fundamental shift in global health governance, urging African nations to move away from donor dependency towards what he described as “health sovereignty”.

Speaking at the 79th World Health Organization (WHO) Summit in Geneva, President Mahama said the current global health financing model has reached its limits and must be restructured to empower countries to take greater ownership of their health systems.

He said Africa has historically been a recipient of global health policy rather than an active architect of it, stressing the need for a new era of self-determination in health governance.

“I stand before you today in the second year of my new tenure as President, mindful that the mandate given to me by my people is not merely to administer, but to transform,” he said.

President Mahama, who also referenced the Accra Reset Initiative, said the movement is aimed at redefining global health architecture and reducing long-standing dependency on external assistance.

He noted that recent reductions in humanitarian assistance and Official Development Assistance (ODA) should be seen as a turning point for reform rather than a setback.

“These cuts in humanitarian assistance and ODA, as painful as they are, serve as the final, clear signal that the old system of donor-dependency is past its sell-by date,” he stated.

According to him, the global community is witnessing the end of an era in international health financing, and must now focus on building stronger, self-reliant systems.

“We are witnessing the end of an era, and we must have the courage to build the next one,” he added.