• Ghana launches “Accra Reset” panel to reform global health governance

• Initiative seeks stronger Global South role in decision-making

• Move follows pandemic-exposed inequalities in global health system

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama on Monday announced the creation of an 18-member international panel under the “Accra Reset” initiative, aimed at reforming the structure and governance of the global health system.

The panel will be co-chaired by four global health figures: Peter Piot, former executive director of UNAIDS; El Hadj As Sy, president of the Kofi Annan Foundation; Nisia Trindade, Brazil’s health minister; and Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Indonesia’s health minister.

The panel is tasked with developing concrete proposals to reshape global health governance, which it says has long been dominated by countries in the Global North, leaving those in the Global South as passive recipients rather than decision-makers.

“This initiative represents a fundamental reimagining of how global health governance should function in the 21st century,” said Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the president’s spokesman and minister for government communications.

The panel’s work will be supported by a high-level advisory group involving several international institutions, including the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, The Global Fund, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD and the International Finance Corporation.

Health System Flaws Exposed by the Pandemic

Accra Reset is part of a broader effort to rethink global systems in health, trade and the economy. The initiative emphasizes strengthening the autonomy of countries in the Global South through the development of regional industrial capacity, including vaccine production and medical technologies, better use of natural resources and stronger economic bargaining power.

Countries in the Global South remain heavily dependent on foreign aid and governance structures dominated by wealthier nations. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the weaknesses of that system, particularly in terms of equitable access to medical resources.

The clearest example is vaccine distribution. According to the United Nations, as of May 16, 2022, of the 12 billion doses administered worldwide, 502 million — about 4.1% — had been given in Africa, despite the continent accounting for nearly 17% of the global population.

Beyond vaccine access, criticism has also focused on WHO financing, which relies heavily on voluntary contributions from the wealthiest countries. In 2025, the United States’ decision to withdraw funding created a shortfall for the 2026–2027 budget cycle. Facing a $660 million gap, the WHO cut its biennial budget from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion, forcing major program reductions.

Those cuts have disrupted health services in many countries, including the closure of some facilities.

Meanwhile, African institutions are working to accelerate the transformation of the continent’s health systems. The African Union and Africa CDC have launched several initiatives to strengthen resilience, including the digitization of primary health care, which accounts for more than 80% of healthcare delivery in Africa.

A continental framework has recently been adopted to connect communities, health professionals and policymakers through interoperable digital systems, with the aim of improving service quality and crisis response capacity. Africa CDC aims to digitize 90% of primary health care systems by 2035, strengthening the continent’s ability to produce and manage its own health data.

At the African Union summit in February 2026, member states also set several strategic priorities: strengthening public health institutions, developing regional vaccine and medicine production, improving epidemic preparedness and integrating health into Agenda 2063.

Charlène N’dimon