President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that Ghana has lost about $78 million in health sector funding following the suspension of United States aid to some African countries.

Speaking at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva on Monday, May 18, the President said the withdrawal of support has had a significant impact on Ghana’s health system and broader development priorities.

“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.

Mr. Mahama explained that the suspended funding previously supported key health interventions, including malaria control, maternal and child health services, nutrition programmes, and HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.

“These monies went into malaria programmes, maternal and child health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS programmes, including testing and the delivery of antiretroviral drugs,” he added.

The President, who was addressing the global health forum to advocate for stronger health sovereignty in the Global South, also expressed concern about the continued decline in international health assistance since the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that global humanitarian assistance has fallen significantly, with Ghana among countries affected by the reduction in external support.

“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.

Mr. Mahama further indicated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also been affected by reduced contributions, particularly from the United States, forcing the agency to scale back programmes and implement staff adjustments.

“The World Health Organisation’s budget has been gutted by the withdrawal of US assistance, forcing the organisation to scale down programmes and undertake staff retrenchment,” he said.

He stressed the need for African countries to strengthen domestic health systems and reduce dependence on external aid in order to ensure sustainable healthcare delivery.

The 79th World Health Assembly has brought together global leaders, policymakers and health experts to deliberate on major global health challenges and sustainable financing mechanisms for healthcare systems.