President John Dramani Mahama has rallied African leaders and global health executives to secure the continent’s health sovereignty through investment in health infrastructure, pharmaceutical and vaccine production.

The President made the appeal in his opening remarks at the African Union Extraordinary Health Summit in Accra.

The high-level Summit brought together African Heads of State, including the African Union Chairperson, President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi; President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania; and President Romuald Wadagni of Benin.

Also in attendance was Mr Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

The two-day summit was themed “Advancing Justice, Equity and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, TB, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases and Conditions in Africa”.

The summit is seeking to galvanise political commitment and accelerate collective action to end AIDS and tuberculosis by 2030, reduce preventable maternal and child deaths, tackle the growing burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and strengthen resilient health systems across the continent.

President Mahama said in December 1958, Ghana’s first President Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who gathered the freedom movements of this continent in Accra, at the All-African People’s Conference, and reminded them that the independence of Ghana would be meaningless unless it was linked to the total liberation of the African continent.

He noted that 68 years on, leaders of African nations had returned to Accra at another consequential moment.

“The fight for liberation today is against another kind of oppressor, one that is more subtle, yet no less dangerous,” the President said.

“It is the fight against inequality, a fight against oppression of viral diseases, of mothers forced to bury their children, of children denied even a single moment of the innocent joy of a mother’s smile.”

He said liberation from this oppression shall be measured in the clinics that stay open in our countries, and the medicines that are manufactured on African soil, in mothers cuddling joyful infants, and in financial budgets adorned with the numbers of their own choosing.

He said they were at the Accra Meeting because they were the front line of this liberation struggle.

“We are the generals of the continent’s battalion of chain seekers,” President Mahama said.

He said development assistance for health fell more than one-fifth in a single year, from around $49.6 billion to about $39.1 billion, stating that on average, significant numbers of member states of the AU still finance roughly half of their health budgets from external sources.

Despite these challenges, there were emerging vaccine manufacturing hubs in Dakar, Cape Town, Kigali, and the Ghana Vaccine Institute as tangible proof of progress.

To tackle chronic diseases and maternal mortality in Ghana, President Mahama cited the establishment of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares).

Regarding mothers and newborns, President Mahama expressed his strongest personal support for Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the AU champion for maternal and child health.

He informed the Assembly that through the Accra Reset, they hope to work very closely together on

Africa’s call to action.

He noted that this was the continent’s first charter in support of the African Union’s roadmap on maternal and child survival, which was built around measurable objectives and a clear set of reform principles.

Mr Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, reiterated the need for African countries to step up their investments in universal healthcare for the benefit of all their citizens.