Ghana has lost approximately $78 million in health sector funding after the United States suspended aid to several African countries, President John Dramani Mahama has revealed.
Delivering the keynote address at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva on Monday, Mr. Mahama said the funding reduction had severely impacted Ghana’s healthcare delivery and broader development agenda.
“In Ghana, health financing from bilateral and multilateral partners has significantly decreased since 2025. Ghana lost $78 million in health funding following the closure of US aid programmes,” he told the Assembly.
The President explained that the withdrawn support had previously financed critical interventions, including malaria control, maternal and child health, nutrition, and HIV/AIDS programmes.
“These monies went into malaria programmes, maternal and child health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS programmes, including testing and the delivery of antiretroviral drugs,” he added.
Mr. Mahama, who is attending the global health gathering to advocate for greater health sovereignty for countries in the Global South, also expressed concern over the continued decline in international health assistance since the COVID-19 pandemic.
He disclosed that global health support had dropped by about 40 per cent since the pandemic, with Ghana among the hardest-hit nations.
“Six years after the last global pandemic, COVID-19, the world health architecture is changing rapidly. Overall, humanitarian assistance is reported to have declined by 40 per cent, and some of the largest Western economies have significantly cut their overseas development assistance,” he stated.
The President further noted that the budget of the World Health Organisation had also been affected by the withdrawal of US support.
While in Geneva, President Mahama is expected to use the platform to push for stronger health systems and reduced dependency on foreign aid among developing nations.
The US aid suspension, part of a broader review of foreign assistance to African countries, has left several nations scrambling to fill funding gaps in essential health services.
