President John Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has defended Ghana’s decision to reject a proposed $100 million health compact from the United States, describing some of its conditions as humiliating and unacceptable.
The compact was presented as a replacement for health funding previously provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), but was rejected by Cabinet after a review by the Ministry of Health.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, President Mahama said the Ministry of Health prepared a Cabinet Information Paper after examining the agreement and flagged several provisions.
According to him, the proposed compact required Ghana to provide the United States with its pathogen profile and medical records, which he said raised concerns about the country’s health data sovereignty.
“It states that we shall give the United States our pathogen profile. It also says we should give our medical records. I mean, who takes another country’s medical records?” he queried.
The President also said Ghana would have been required to provide counterpart funding under the arrangement, while medicines and medical products brought into the country would not be subject to inspection by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
“It was humiliating. And so it was the compact that was thrown out in record time in our Cabinet. I’ve never seen anything thrown out as fast as that,” President Mahama stated.
A Daily Guide Report