Your Excellency, President John Dramani Mahama,
As you take part in the high-level deliberations on Africa’s future, the hopes of millions of young people and students rest on your voice. We know the world will speak of Africa’s needs, but it is time Africa speaks of its solutions—and Ghana, under your renewed leadership, must stand at the forefront.
Africa is the youngest continent on earth. By 2050, one in every five young people in the world will be African. Ghana itself is already grappling with a youth bulge, unemployment, and a growing demand for healthcare, nutrition, and jobs. If we do not invest in the health and productivity of our people, this demographic dividend will slip through our fingers and become a demographic disaster.
Your Excellency, history has shown us that the destiny of Africa cannot and will not be built on donor generosity. The era of waiting for Western interventions must end.
The Abuja Declaration of 2001, where African leaders boldly pledged to commit at least 15% of national budgets to health remains largely unfulfilled. Today, Ghana and many African states spend far less, leaving gaps that foreign aid attempts to fill. But this is neither sustainable nor dignified.
We must take ownership.
COVID-19 taught us bitter lessons. When vaccines were produced, Africa was last in line. When global supply chains froze, our dependence on imported medicines and equipment became a life-threatening vulnerability. More than 70% of medicines consumed in Africa are imported. This is unacceptable for a continent of over 1.4 billion people with vast human and natural resources.
Mr. President, Ghana has a unique chance to champion three urgent shifts on the global stage:
1.Domestic Financing for Health – Lead a renewed African push to meet Abuja commitments. Let Ghana signal a new seriousness by scaling up budgetary allocations to health and demanding accountability.
2.Pharmaceutical and Vaccine Sovereignty – Push for bold investments in African-owned production of medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics. Ghana can lead through public-private partnerships that not only save lives but also create jobs.
3.Youth-Centred Health and Nutrition – Insist that health financing is not only about hospitals, but about ensuring that Africa’s children are nourished, educated, and equipped to be productive citizens. The youth are the greatest asset, not a burden.
Your Excellency, this is not merely about health. It is about Africa’s dignity, sovereignty, and future. As Kwame Nkrumah once reminded us, “We face neither East nor West; we face forward.”
The future of Africa depends on leaders who are bold enough to say: our problems, our solutions. Ghana’s voice under your leadership must call for an Africa that refuses dependency, invests in its people, and takes its rightful place in global health governance.
The world is listening. The youth are watching. And history will remember.
Respectfully, Issah Ibrahim, President, Private Universities Students’ Association of Ghana (PUSAG).
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