Home - President Mahama explains why Ghana rejected US health deal

President John Dramani Mahama has explained why Ghana declined to sign a new health compact proposed by the United States to replace some of the funding previously provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to him in a video sighted by GhanaWeb, on September 28, 2026, his cabinet flagged several conditions contained in the agreement, particularly those relating to Ghana’s health data, medical records, counterpart funding and the inspection of medical products entering the country.

Insider details on Ghana's rejection of US health aid deal - Report

President Mahama said Ghana’s position to reject the deal was informed by its status as a sovereign and democratic country adding that the conditions were ‘humiliating’.

“We received the Health Compact from the US to replace USAID funding, and Ghana is a sovereign nation, and we have our processes. We're a democratic country, and so when the compact was received, the Health Ministry studied it and did what we call a cabinet information paper,” he said.

One of the major concerns, he said, was a requirement for Ghana to provide the United States with its pathogen profile, which contains information on diseases and disease-causing organisms present in the country.

He said the agreement also required Ghana to provide medical records, which the government considered unacceptable.

“And so, the compact was brought to cabinet, and we flagged several things in the compact. One, it says that we shall give the United States our pathogen profile. It means what diseases are endemic in Ghana; what is the pathogen profile of a country,” President Mahama continued.

“They also say we should give our medical records. I mean, who takes another country's medical records? And so that was strange,” he added.

President Mahama also said Ghana was expected to contribute a certain amount of money to the programme as part of the agreement.

He did not give the exact amount Ghana would have been required to provide but said this was another issue flagged by Cabinet.

“And then it also says we would have to put up a certain amount of money as part of the program into healthcare,” he said.

Another major concern, according to President Mahama, was the proposed treatment of medicines and other medical products entering Ghana under the programme.

He said the agreement would have prevented the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) from inspecting such products.

“And then it also says that any medications or any medical products that shall be brought into our country, our Food and Drugs Administration has absolutely no rights to inspect. I mean, it was humiliating and so it was the compact that was thrown out in record time in our cabinet,” he added.

He said Ghana decided it could manage its health needs without accepting the conditions attached to the proposed funding.

“We asked the health minister to inform the US ambassador that we didn't need it, we'll manage ourselves, and for a pittance, a hundred and something million dollars and so we said, no, we didn't want it and we're doing fine,” he noted.

Ghana rejects $109m US health aid deal over data privacy concerns

Background

Ghana’s rejection of the proposed deal was first reported in April 2026, with Reuters reporting that the government had objected to provisions requiring the sharing of sensitive health data.

The Associated Press later reported that the proposed agreement would have provided Ghana with about US$109 million over five years, while Ghana’s Data Protection Commission raised concerns about the scope of access to sensitive health information.

Watch the video below:

Why Ghana flagged and declined to sign the new USA Health Compact Agreement.

President Mahama disclosed that Ghana flagged several issues in a health compact proposed by the U.S. as a replacement for USAID funding.

MAG/VPO

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