Full Circle

On 5 August 2025, President Mahama convened a summit in Accra on health sovereignty. The discussion made one thing clear: health sovereignty cannot be achieved through the health sector alone. Debt service constrains what governments can spend on clinics.

Trade and IP rules shape where medicines are made. Migration policy influences whether a nurse trained in Kumasi practices at home or abroad. Data governance determines what gets measured, and by whom - and Africa's negotiating power on data has become central to its talks with the United States. A sovereignty agenda confined to any one sector would ultimately undermine itself.

Three weeks later, during UNGA week in New York, the Accra Reset launched with health as its first commitment within a broader, interconnected set of goals. One year on, we take stock.

Last September, the Reset was a proposal. Today, it has a record: a High-Level Panel completing its work by UNGA81; a North-South dialogue platform with founding co-stewards; an African Union-endorsed framework on maternal and child survival; a new institute credentialing sovereign negotiators; a verified skills passport with its first corridor underway; and an observatory tracking reform commitments on both sides of the North-South relationship.

On 21 September 2026, we will gather at the New York Marriott Marquis to mark this progress and renew our commitment to the work ahead. Staged programming will take place from 4:00-6:30 p.m., followed by a reception and an opportunity to continue the conversation.