On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Accra Reset initiative brought African leaders into a forum traditionally dominated by financiers, multilateral institutions, and global power brokers. What began in Accra with the Accra Compact and continued through convenings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, is moving from vision to action, as African countries pursue health sovereignty through disciplined execution, coordinated planning, and strategic engagement within global systems.

The Accra Reset at Davos opened with a call for “A New Bandung Spirit”, an idea that progress happens when countries act together at the right scale, at the opportune moment, and with the right balance of incentives.

Speaking to this vision, Ghana’s President, H.E John Dramani Mahama, framed Africa’s approach to global governance as practical and urgent. While the post-independence era has delivered important gains, it has also left the continent vulnerable to aid dependence, shifting geopolitical interests, and limited control over the value of its own resources. He described this as a “triple dependency trap” where countries rely on external actors for security decisions, depend on donors to sustain health and education systems, and supply the world’s critical minerals while capturing little of their value.

For Mahama, the Accra Reset is meant to move beyond rhetoric. He presented it as a practical blueprint for advancing African sovereignty, structured around five core pillars:

(i) investing in skills: digital, green energy, and manufacturing skills that match real jobs.

(ii) building together: regional industrial and digital platforms that create economies of scale.

(iii) negotiating as one: pooling bargaining power on minerals, trade, and climate finance.

(iv) producing at home: from vaccines to semiconductors, ensuring Africa controls critical supply chains.

(v) holding governments accountable to their citizens, with Mahama explaining that Africa cannot credibly demand global investment while tolerating corruption, waste, and systems that fail to work.

Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, chairman of the Guardians Circle of the Accra Reset, agreed that Africa’s triple dependency has fostered a dangerous habit that trains countries to negotiate from fear, plan from scarcity, and implement amid constant disruption.

“Sovereignty is not a flag that we have come to wave. Sovereignty is discipline. It is the ability to make choices and carry them through… It is the ability to coordinate regionally, mobilise capital, incentivise resources and implement at scale that lead to sustainable development and growth. If you cannot execute, you cannot be sovereign. If you cannot coordinate, you will be divided, if you cannot negotiate, you will be prized, packaged and positioned by others….”

~ H.E Olusegun Obasanjo

Echoing the call for action, World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that Africa loses more to illicit financial flows than it receives in aid. He stressed that countries must mobilise domestic resources, combining short-term measures like taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks with long-term solutions such as social health insurance and community-based systems to strengthen sovereignty.

Turning Vision into Action

Drawing on the Global Fund’s 24-year partnership with African countries, Executive Director Peter Sands, reflected on how country-led strategies have long enabled governments and communities to set priorities and drive delivery. “What’s changed,” he said, “is both the ambition and the global context. The Accra Reset is an opportunity to accelerate self-reliance while leveraging the benefits of global scale.” He also highlighted three key executional challenges that must be navigated: maintaining the benefits of global scale; protecting hard-won gains against major disease during the transition; and ensuring the push for sovereignty is not misread as a signal for donors to withdraw prematurely, particularly in conflict-affected settings where external support remains lifesaving.

Sands concluded on a note of partnership, reaffirming the Global Fund’s long-term commitment to Africa, noting that the goal remains eventual self-reliance. “You have had the Global Fund as a partner for 24 years and we will continue to be your partner until you do us out of a job, and we will celebrate when that day happens.”

From the perspective of delivery, Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of GAVI stressed that countries must be empowered to make real decisions at the local level, while global institutions streamline and simplify operations, not add layers of complexity. Her experience leadingGavi’s reforms, such as Gavi Leap showed that giving governments discretion over resources and merging overlapping programs at the last mile can turn ambition into tangible results for communities.

In his closing remarks, President Mahama formally announced the establishment of the global Secretariat of the Accra Reset, a permanent political and strategic hub to ensure continuity between Heads of State and the Guardians Circle. He also launched a high-level panel on global health governance and confirmed Ghana’s commitment to co-host a technical Secretariat with a North partner under the North-South Dialogue. This framework will coordinate policy exchanges on investments, critical minerals, AI, digital infrastructure, and skills development, with partners including India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Singapore, reflecting a renewed Bandung-inspired approach to cross-regional cooperation.

Why This Matters

The Accra Reset and the drive for health sovereignty are unfolding against a backdrop of deep shifts in global health and foreign policy. The United States, historically one of the largest funders of many global health initiatives, formally withdrew from the World Health Organization on 22nd January 2026, weakening multilateral health coordination and introducing new risks for pandemic preparedness and vaccine collaboration. At the same time, the U.S. is increasingly favouring bilateral agreements with African countries over multilateral support, raising questions about how health priorities are set and how accountability is maintained.

These shifts make the push for health sovereignty urgent and tangible. With official development assistance (ODA) models changing and countries navigating bilateral deals often shaped by donor priorities rather than negotiated with national interests fully at their centre, Africa’s ability to set its own health priorities is no longer just a matter of equity. It is central to building resilient systems that can deliver for communities, safeguard progress, and ensure that Africa is driving its own future.