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President John Dramani Mahama has defended Ghana’s decision to reject a proposed health compact from the United States, saying some of the conditions contained in the agreement were unacceptable and humiliating.
The proposed compact was intended to replace health funding previously channelled through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). However, Ghana’s Cabinet rejected the agreement following a review by the Ministry of Health.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, President Mahama said the Ministry examined the proposed deal and presented its concerns to Cabinet through an Information Paper.
According to the President, the agreement would have required Ghana to share its pathogen profile and medical records with the United States, raising concerns over the protection and handling of the country’s health data.
“It states that we shall give the United States our pathogen profile. It also says we should give our medical records. I mean, who takes another country’s medical records?” he said.
President Mahama further disclosed that Ghana would have been required to provide counterpart funding under the arrangement. He also raised concerns over provisions that would have exempted medicines and other medical products brought into the country from inspection by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
Describing the conditions as humiliating, the President said Cabinet moved swiftly to reject the proposal.
“It was humiliating. And so it was the compact that was thrown out in record time in our Cabinet. I’ve never seen anything thrown out as fast as that,” he said.
The proposed deal was to provide $100 million in funding to some African countries that were severely affected by cuts in US foreign aid. The funding was intended to strengthen public health systems and support efforts to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks.