Why Ghana Said No to America's Health Deal

Ghana has turned down a proposed bilateral health agreement with the United States. It was a rare refusal of money Ghana needed, made on grounds of sovereignty and patient privacy.

What was on the table
The deal would have provided $109 million in US health assistance over five years, with negotiations starting in November 2025. It was meant to replace support once delivered through USAID, which was dismantled last year.

Ghana received $219 million in US foreign assistance in 2024, including $96 million for health, so the new offer was smaller than what the country was used to.

The proposal came under Washington's "America First Global Health Strategy," which requires recipient governments to co-invest and moves poorer nations from aid towards self-reliance in fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and polio.

Why Ghana refused
Reuters first reported the rejection, citing a source who said the Mahama government balked at terms requiring the sharing of sensitive health data. The source added that pressure grew toward the end of the talks. The U.S.

State Department said it does not disclose details of bilateral negotiations and that it continues to look for ways to strengthen the partnership.

President Mahama later gave his own account at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He said the proposal went through due process, and he described it as "humiliating".

He listed concerns including a requirement to provide medical records, a set amount of Ghanaian counterpart funding, and a provision that would have stopped the Food and Drugs Authority from inspecting certain medicines and products supplied under the programme.

Cabinet rejected the deal quickly, and the Health Minister was told to inform the US Ambassador that Ghana would manage on its own.

A wider pattern
Ghana is not alone. Zimbabwe rejected a $367 million proposal over demands for sensitive data. A Kenyan court suspended a similar agreement after a consumer rights group raised concerns about Kenyans' health data.

Activists across the continent argue these agreements often lack safeguards on data use, and the Africa CDC chief has also raised "huge concerns" about data sharing.

Yet the US embassy in Zimbabwe says 16 African countries have signed health pacts worth more than $18.3 billion, so the picture is divided.

The cost of saying no
Principle has a price. Mahama said $174 million factored into Ghana's budget was withdrawn when US aid was cut, leaving gaps in health and education.

His response has been the "Accra Reset," an initiative triggered by the abrupt withdrawal of US support and aimed at keeping health central to Africa's development.

The real test is domestic. If Ghana is turning down external money on grounds of sovereignty, it must show that it can fund essential health programmes itself, protect patient data, and keep medicine regulation strong.

Saying no is only half the policy. The other half is making sure patients do not pay for it.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,
International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)
[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources
Reuters via Post and Courier, "Ghana rejects proposed US health deal in latest stumbling block to US aid": https://www.postandcourier.com/health/ghana-rejects-us-health-deal-latest-stumbling-block-us-aid/article_e5b854ac-af27-49d8-8b14-be187d5978bd.html

Graphic Online, "Why Ghana rejected US health aid deal over sensitive data sharing concerns": https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/health/ghana-rejects-us-health-aid-deal.html

AP via U.S. News, "Ghana Becomes the Latest African Country to Reject a US Health Deal" (May 1, 2026): https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2026-05-01/ghana-becomes-the-latest-african-country-to-reject-a-us-health-deal-citing-data-sharing-concerns

Graphic Online, "US, Ghana health pact humiliating President Mahama justifies rejection": https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-us-ghana-health-pact-humiliating-president-mahama-justifies-rejection.html

ModernGhana, "Mahama explains why 'humiliating' US, Ghana health deal was thrown out": https://www.modernghana.com/news/1531327/mahama-explains-why-humiliating-us-ghana-health.html

RT Africa, "Ghana rejects US health deal": https://www.rt.com/africa/639240-ghana-rejects-us-health-deal/

BBC via AOL, "Zimbabwe rejects 'lopsided' US health aid deal over data concerns": https://www.aol.com/articles/zimbabwe-rejects-lopsided-us-health-133945264.html