President John Dramani Mahama has called on countries to shift from commitment to concrete action in addressing global health challenges, stressing the need to link national One Health strategies to a unified global public health framework.
Speaking at the high-level session of the One Health Summit in Lyon, Mahama emphasized that the era of declarations must end, and coordinated efforts are now crucial to safeguard populations worldwide.
“First, let us shift from commitment to action. The period of declarations must end, the moment for coordinated effort is here, and we must start by connecting our One Health strategies to national development agendas and a new global public health framework.” he said.
The One Health Summit, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, brings together heads of state, policymakers, scientists, and public health leaders to strengthen global cooperation in health security.
The summit seeks to align strategies across human, animal, and environmental health, with a focus on prevention, early detection, and rapid response to emerging health threats.
Highlighting the integration of health and international security, Mahama urged the global community to fully adopt the One Health approach as a key pillar of sustainable development which is inseperable from from human development and environmental stability. He emphasized the need for policies that connect public health, ecosystems, and national growth agendas.
He also underscored the importance of building a “preventive shield” against emerging pandemics. He called for robust surveillance systems, early warning mechanisms, and community-level interventions that are smart, dynamic, agile, and interoperable. Mahama warned that simply layering new bureaucracies onto old structures would fail to protect populations effectively.
Mahama stressed that decisions made at the summit must lead to tangible and measurable outcomes for people and the planet, urging summit participants to translate discussions into real-world interventions.
“The decisions we make at this summit will shape the future of global health security. We must ensure they result in tangible, measurable outcomes for our people and our planet.” he said.
Drawing from Ghana’s experience, Mahama highlighted the country’s initiatives to strengthen public health. The Ghana Medical Trust Fund and free primary healthcare programs aim to improve health outcomes by promoting preventive care, lifestyle changes, and the integration of traditional knowledge into modern healthcare practices.
He further addressed Africa’s evolving health challenges, noting the rise of non-communicable diseases, which now account for 42% of all mortality in Ghana. The President pointed to climate change, ecosystem degradation, species conflicts, and the loss of natural barriers as compounding risks, while also emphasizing the global threat of plastic pollution.
President Mahama urged international cooperation to ensure that countries most at risk have the resources to respond effectively. He called for fair access to financing, technology, data, and innovation, as well as enhanced research and knowledge sharing, to build resilient health systems capable of prevention, detection, and rapid response.
He also stressed that Africa’s health and environmental stability is a global asset, not a threat. He urged world leaders to act decisively, harness political will, and implement strategies that ensure the health of people, animals, and the environment remain interconnected for sustainable global progress.
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