The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has stated that he is under no pressure to sign the proposed US$109 million health funding agreement with the United States.
According to him, Ghana remains open to international partnerships but would not accept conditions that undermine the country’s sovereignty, dignity or domestic laws.
The government rejected the initial US health funding compact after a review by the Ministry of Health and Cabinet, citing concerns over provisions relating to pharmaceutical regulation and health data sharing.
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The agreement was intended to replace health funding previously provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Speaking to Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Monday, October 19, Mr Akandoh dismissed suggestions that he was under pressure to approve the deal.
“No, I’m never under any pressure. Trust us to take the best decision in the interest of the country,” he said.
According to him, Ghana needs international cooperation in healthcare but insisted that such partnerships must respect the country’s dignity, and assured that the national interests will guide the government’s decision.
“We need partnership, but we need partnership with respect and dignity. So these fragmentations and tendencies and promises of partnership — no, we will have to move from dependency to dignity, from fragmentation to solidarity,” he added.
Mr Akandoh explained that the Ministry of Health initially received a memorandum of understanding (MoU) from the US delegation but requested changes rather than accepting the document in its original form.
Following a review, the ministry identified concerns and presented them to Cabinet for consideration.
He said President John Dramani Mahama has directed ministers to refer major decisions about which they are uncertain to Cabinet for further deliberations.
One major concern involved a provision that would exempt US pharmaceutical products covered by the agreement from verification or certification by Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
The minister also questioned provisions requiring Ghana to share health data with the United States.
“I’ve heard some people saying it is not individual data. They are looking for aggregated data. Whether aggregated data or individual data is data,” he said.
Mr Akandoh further questioned the compact’s naming, which he linked to the US administration’s “America First” policy.
“So you also have to tell yourself Ghana first. So we came from Ghana first to meet America First,” he said.
He added that Cabinet has concluded that several provisions of the initial agreement are inconsistent with Ghana’s domestic laws.
“As of the last time I checked, they resubmitted another MoU because we decided not to go with the first one. And we are looking at it, and we’ll go to Cabinet for consideration,” he said.
CNR