President Mahama’s ‘Accra Reset’ unveils high-level panel to reform global health governance

The Chancery of the Accra Reset, a flagship African health and economic sovereignty initiative championed by President John Dramani Mahama, has announced the formation of a high-level panel aimed at driving transformative reforms in global health governance and institutional architecture.

As part of this effort, the Chancery has officially inaugurated an 18-member High-Level Panel tasked with developing concrete, actionable proposals to restructure the global health system. The reforms will prioritize equity, national sovereignty, and inclusive decision-making, particularly for countries in the Global South.

The Accra Reset initiative is designed to challenge longstanding global health frameworks that have historically positioned developing nations as passive recipients of aid and policy direction, rather than as equal stakeholders with the authority to shape decisions affecting their populations.

The panel is co-chaired by prominent global health leaders, including Peter Piot, El Hadj As Sy, Nísia Trindade, and Budi Gunadi Sadikin, bringing together a wealth of experience across public health, governance, and international development.

According to the Chancery, the panel’s core mandate is to produce practical and implementable reforms that will redefine global health governance structures. The goal is to ensure that developing countries are recognized as sovereign actors with meaningful influence in shaping international health policies and priorities.

To support its work, the panel will operate alongside a High-Level Consultative Group, which will facilitate structured engagement with major global institutions. These include the World Health Organization (WHO), World Trade Organization (WTO), Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, AUDA-NEPAD, and the International Finance Corporation.

The panel is expected to begin its work immediately, with its terms of reference to be further refined and formally adopted through contributions from key global platforms such as the World Health Assembly and the United Nations General Assembly.

In a significant development, former Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, has been appointed as Special Advisor to the panel and Envoy of the Co-Chairs. He is expected to leverage his extensive experience within international health systems to guide the reform agenda and strengthen engagement with global stakeholders.

The High-Level Panel comprises a diverse mix of policymakers, academics, and global health experts from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Notable members include Nigeria’s Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate, public health researcher Catherine Kyobutungi, global health advocate Soumya Swaminathan, and John Nkengasong, among others.

Additional members represent institutions across investment, academia, and technology sectors, underscoring a multidisciplinary approach to rethinking and modernizing global health systems.

The High-Level Consultative Group will include influential global figures such as Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Winnie Byanyima. Their role will be to provide strategic guidance and ensure that proposed reforms align with existing global health frameworks while advancing equity and inclusivity.

The Accra Reset initiative forms part of broader efforts to reposition Africa and other developing regions as central actors in shaping global systems that directly impact their development trajectories, particularly in health, finance, and governance.