Mahama Launches “Accra Reset” at UN
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, joined by a coalition of global leaders, has launched the Accra Reset, an ambitious framework to transform global development financing and partnerships. The initiative was unveiled at a high-level side event during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Mahama, who also serves as the African Union Champion for African Financial Institutions, described the Reset as a bold response to what he called a “fraying global development architecture.” He highlighted the devastating impact of COVID-19, which erased two decades of progress in less than two years, the deepening global debt crisis, and climate shocks that threaten more than 700 million people with hunger.
“The world is only five years from 2030,” Mahama said. “The question is not simply what new targets should replace the SDGs, but how we design institutions and financing systems that actually work. Workability is the name of the game now—innovative financing instruments, new business models and smarter coalitions that multiply resources rather than ration them.”
Drawing parallels to the 2001 Monterrey Consensus, which gave rise to landmark platforms such as GAVI and the Global Fund, Mahama urged a similar rethink of multilateralism—one focused on sustainable value creation rather than aspirational pledges.
Anchored in Sovereignty, Workability, and Shared Value
The Accra Reset is built on three core principles: sovereignty, workability, and shared value. Health sovereignty will serve as the entry point, transitioning countries from aid dependency to self-reliance. This approach builds on outcomes from the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit held in Accra in August 2025.
To operationalise the framework, the Club of Accra will pilot new financing innovations and create “geostrategic dealrooms” to mobilise investment in health, climate resilience, food security, and job creation.
A Global Presidential Council was also announced to provide high-level political leadership, alongside a Global College of Advisors comprising experts in health, finance, business, and innovation to guide pilot projects and design new financing models.
Global Leaders Voice Support
The initiative drew strong backing from political, institutional, and private sector leaders.
- Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian President and co-convenor, urged a new era of solidarity and a decisive break from aid dependency.
- Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister, hailed the Reset as “a plan for the future,” stressing the importance of health sovereignty.
- A statement on behalf of Kenyan President William Ruto called for financing mechanisms that match national ambitions and hold the Global Presidential Council accountable for delivering universal health coverage.
- Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados pledged to align skills and industrial policy to support pharmaceutical production across the Global South.
- Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Bank, committed strong private sector financing and leadership.
Endorsements also came from WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who both stressed the urgency of “rewiring” outdated global norms.
With the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline looming—and fewer than half of the 169 targets on track—the Accra Reset is being positioned as a blueprint to realign global development with today’s urgent realities.
Source – My News Ghana
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