President John Dramani Mahama has called for urgent international action to tackle rising global health threats, highlighting the deep interconnections between climate change, disease, and inequality. Speaking at the One Health Summit 2026, the President outlined three key steps: moving from commitment to action, integrating One Health strategies into national development frameworks, and strengthening preventive surveillance systems.
Mahama stressed that prevention-led health systems are both more effective and cost-efficient, citing Ghana’s Ghana Medical Trust Fund and primary healthcare programmes as examples. He also warned that climate change, illegal mining, and plastic pollution are escalating threats to human, animal, and environmental health globally.
Highlighting Africa’s role, the President urged equitable access to resources, financing, and technology, asserting that a healthy and thriving continent benefits global progress. He called on leaders to use the summit as a turning point to implement tangible outcomes, ensuring coordinated protection of ecosystems, human health, and animals alike.
The Lyon summit, hosted under France’s G7 Presidency, brings together policymakers, health experts, and scientists to promote coordinated global responses to interconnected health challenges.
