President John Dramani Mahama has defended and explained Ghana’s decision to reject a proposed health compact from the United States.
Mahama described some of the US health deal conditions as humiliating and unacceptable.
According to John Mahama, the compact was presented as a replacement for health funding previously provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
He disclosed that the $100m US health compact was thrown out of Cabinet after a review by the Ministry of Health.
Mahama detailed that the Ministry of Health prepared a Cabinet Information Paper after examining the agreement and flagged several provisions.
He disclosed that the proposed compact required Ghana to provide the United States with its pathogen profile and medical records, which President Mahama said raised concerns about the country’s health data.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, President Mahama explained, “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”.
“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,” Mahama added.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
It will be recalled earlier. In 2026, the government of Ghana rejected a bilateral health deal with the United States over “unhealthy concerns” about the terms.
Reports suggest Ghana declined the deal primarily because of the conditions attached to it.
The information gathered suggests the proposed agreement required Ghana to share health records with the United States for a period of 25 years, while the aid program was for five years.
Also, an MoU also reportedly included provisions that would allow drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to enter the Ghanaian market without undergoing the country’s standard approval process by Ghana’s FDA.
JoyNews in a post stated, “US health aid: JoyNews sources confirm in November 2025, the US chargé d’affaires presented Ghana’s Ministry of Health with an MoU unilaterally by the US requesting it be signed within one week”.
Another post stated, “US health aid deal: US required Ghana to share health records for 25 years while aid was for only 5 years – JoyNews sources say”.
Reuters, which shared more details, stated, “ Ghana has rejected a bilateral health deal with the U.S., a source familiar with the negotiations told Reuters, the latest stumbling block to the Trump administration’s effort to overhaul foreign aid.
The government of President John Dramani Mahama baulked at terms requiring the sharing of sensitive health data, the source said”.
Watch the video below:
Why Ghana flagged and declined to sign the new USA Health Compact Agreement.
— Kiss Me Quikk (@Kiss_Mequikk) September 27, 2026
President Mahama disclosed that Ghana flagged several issues in a health compact proposed by the U.S. as a replacement for USAID funding.
JDM explains 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/rD6AbWemWJ
@ghnow_ A disagreement reportedly broke out between passengers, a trotro driver and his mate after the mate allegedly demanded fares above the 8% increase announced by transport unions. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ A disagreement reportedly broke out between passengers, a trotro driver and his mate after the mate allegedly demanded fares above the 8% increase announced by transport unions. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
