Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie has praised President John Dramani Mahama for rejecting a proposed health compact with the United States, saying the decision could help restore Ghana’s dignity and respect internationally.
Sarkodie expressed his support in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, following President Mahama’s revelation that Cabinet had rejected the proposed agreement after identifying provisions the government considered unacceptable.
“Thank you, Mr. President… Hopefully one day we gain back the full respect deserved,” Sarkodie wrote.
President Mahama disclosed details of the rejected compact while speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Friday, September 25, 2026.
According to the President, the agreement had been presented as an alternative arrangement after Ghana lost funding following the termination of support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
He explained that the Ministry of Health reviewed the proposed compact and subsequently prepared a Cabinet Information Paper for consideration.
“And so the compact was brought to the cabinet, and we flagged several things in the compact,” President Mahama said.
One of the concerns, he noted, involved a requirement for Ghana to provide its pathogen profile, including information about diseases that are endemic to the country.
“It means that diseases that are endemic in Ghana. What are diseases endemic in Ghana? What is the pathogen profile of a country? I’m sure there are medical experts who understand that better than me,” he said.
President Mahama also raised concerns about another provision which, according to him, required Ghana to provide medical records.
“I mean, who takes another country’s medical records? And so that was strange,” he said.
He further stated that the proposed agreement would have required Ghana to make a specified financial contribution to the programme while limiting the Food and Drugs Authority’s (FDA) ability to inspect medicines and other medical products entering the country under the arrangement.
President Mahama described the terms as “humiliating”, saying Cabinet therefore moved quickly to reject the agreement.
“I mean, it was humiliating. And so it was the compact that was thrown out in record time in our cabinet. I’ve never seen anything thrown out as fast as that. And so, of course, we rejected it,” he said.
Sarkodie’s comments have since added public attention to the government’s decision and President Mahama’s explanation of why Ghana declined the proposed health compact.
By: Prince Martey-Sogar.