The United States is seeking to revise its proposed $109 million health compact with Ghana, including amending or removing clauses that led to its rejection by Cabinet, President John Mahama has disclosed.
Speaking at a citizens’ engagement in Goaso in the Ahafo Region, the President said the US government has requested further discussions on the agreement
“The health compact the Americans brought to us, I have talked about it when I was in New York, so everyone knows about it. Later, they came back and said they wanted us to sit down and discuss the clauses we object to in the compact, with a view to either amending or removing them. We will sit down with them and discuss,” he said
Ghana rejected the proposed agreement after raising concerns about provisions relating to sensitive health information, national sovereignty, counterpart funding and the regulatory authority of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
The proposed compact was intended to provide approximately $109 million in US health assistance over five years, replacing some funding previously received through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
At a dialogue hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on September 25, 2026, President Mahama explained why Cabinet rejected the proposed compact.
He said Ghana had followed its established procedures, with the Ministry of Health reviewing the document and submitting an information paper to Cabinet. The review identified provisions the government considered problematic.
One major concern was a requirement for Ghana to provide the United States with its pathogen profile, which contains information about disease-causing organisms circulating in the country. The President also objected to provisions he said required Ghana to share medical records.
“It states that we shall give the United States our pathogen profile. I’m sure there are medical experts who understand that better than me. And it also says we should give our medical records. I mean, who takes another country’s medical records?” he asked.
President Mahama further said the agreement required Ghana to commit its own funds to the programme while restricting the FDA’s authority to inspect medicines and other medical products brought into the country under the arrangement. Describing the conditions, he said, “I mean, it was humiliating.”
He added that Cabinet rejected the agreement with government deciding it would not proceed with it under the proposed terms.
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