Prez. Mahama Launches High-Level Panel Under Accra Reset to Drive Global Health Reform
President John Dramani Mahama has announced the formation of an 18-member high-level panel under the Accra Reset Initiative, a landmark African-led platform aimed at reshaping the global health architecture and governance system. The move marks a major step in Ghana’s broader push for health sovereignty, equitable global partnerships, and stronger representation for countries of the Global South in international decision-making.
The newly constituted panel brings together some of the world’s most respected voices in global health, policy, and development. It will be co-chaired by four distinguished international leaders: Peter Piot, former Director General of UNAIDS and Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; El Hadj As Sy, Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation and former United Nations Under Secretary General; Nísia Trindade, Brazil’s Minister of Health and President Emerita of Fiocruz; and Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Indonesia’s Minister of Health.
According to the Presidency, the panel has been mandated to develop concrete and actionable proposals to reform a global health system that has historically positioned governments in the Global South as passive recipients rather than equal and sovereign actors with the authority to shape policies affecting their populations.
The initiative reflects a growing call for structural reforms in the way global health systems are financed, governed, and implemented. It also seeks to challenge long-standing post-colonial power imbalances that have often limited the influence of African and other developing nations in critical global health decisions, including pandemic preparedness, health financing, and access to medicines.
In a statement issued by the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the initiative was described as a fundamental rethinking of 21st-century health governance, with the objective of building a system that is more inclusive, responsive, and rooted in sovereignty.
To support its work, the panel will be guided by a High-Level Consultative Group made up of leaders from key global institutions, including the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, the Global Fund, Africa CDC, AUDA NEPAD, and the International Finance Corporation. This structure is intended to ensure sustained engagement with the major institutions that shape global health policy and financing.
Among the notable members of the panel are Mohammed Pate, Nigeria’s Minister for Health; John Nkengasong, Executive Director of the MasterCard Foundation and former Director of Africa CDC; and Soumya Swaminathan, former Chief Scientist of WHO. Their inclusion brings a wealth of technical, operational, and policy expertise to the reform process.
Former UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé has also been appointed Special Advisor to the High-Level Panel and Envoy of the Co-Chairs. His decades of experience within global health institutions are expected to provide strategic guidance as the panel develops its recommendations.
The consultative group also includes globally respected leaders such as WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, reinforcing the international significance of the initiative.
The panel is expected to commence work immediately, with its recommendations likely to influence discussions at the World Health Assembly and the United Nations General Assembly. For Ghana and Africa, the Accra Reset Initiative signals a decisive effort to move from aid dependency toward leadership in shaping the future of global health governance.
