President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana, together with a coalition of international leaders, has launched the Accra Reset—a new framework aimed at reshaping global development financing and partnerships. The initiative was introduced at a high-level side event during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
As the African Union’s Champion for African Financial Institutions, President Mahama described the Accra Reset as a bold response to a “fraying” global development architecture. He cited the COVID-19 pandemic, mounting debt crises, and intensifying climate shocks—factors that have pushed more than 700 million people to the brink of hunger.
“The world is only five years from 2030,” he said. “The question is not simply what new targets should replace the SDGs, but how we design institutions and financing systems that actually work. Workability is the name of the game now—innovative financing instruments, new business models and smarter coalitions that multiply resources rather than ration them.”
Drawing on the precedent of the 2001 Monterrey Consensus, which created platforms such as GAVI and the Global Fund, Mahama called for a fresh rethinking of multilateralism—moving from aspirational goals to sustainable value creation.
The Accra Reset is anchored in three principles: sovereignty, workability, and shared value. Its first focus area will be the health sector, shifting from aid dependency toward health sovereignty, building on outcomes from the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit held in Accra in August 2025.
To operationalise the Reset, the Club of Accra will pilot innovative financing tools and establish “geostrategic dealrooms” to drive investment in health, climate, food security, and job creation. A Global Presidential Council will also be formed to ensure high-level political leadership and accountability, supported by a Global College of Advisors composed of leading experts in health, finance, innovation, and business.
The initiative received strong endorsements from global leaders and institutions. Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo urged a shift from aid dependency to solidarity, while former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the Reset as “a plan for the future.” Kenyan President William Ruto, through a speech delivered on his behalf, called for financing aligned with national ambitions, and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados pledged support for skills and industrial policies in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Private sector backing also came from Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Bank, who pledged financing leadership, while global institutions, including the World Health Organization and World Trade Organization, endorsed the push to “rewire” outdated global norms.
With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline fast approaching and fewer than half of the 169 targets on track, the Accra Reset is being positioned as a blueprint to realign the global development agenda with today’s urgent realities.
Source:Africa Publicity
