Aid cuts could push 5.7 million Africans into poverty by 2026, Mahama warns at World Health Assembly

President John Dramani Mahama has issued a stark warning about the impact of reductions in United States development assistance, cautioning that millions of Africans risk being pushed into deeper poverty if the trend is not reversed.

Speaking at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, President Mahama said current estimates suggest that the suspension of USAID support to Africa could push about 5.7 million people into poverty by the end of 2026.

“It is estimated that the direct consequences of these aid suspensions could push about 5.7 million Africans into poverty by the end of 2026,” he stated.

He further warned that the long-term fallout could be even more devastating. According to projections he cited, up to 9 million preventable deaths could occur by 2030 as a result of shifting global health financing priorities and reduced support to vulnerable countries.

“We were told that by 2030, 9 million preventable deaths could occur due to these shifts,” he added.

The President has been pushing for a recalibration of global health financing models, insisting that Africa must accelerate efforts to build stronger, more resilient domestic health systems to minimise the impact of sudden funding shocks.

Mr Mahama also revealed that Ghana has already lost about 78 million dollars following the United States’ decision to suspend certain forms of aid to African countries.

Using the World Health Assembly platform, he called for a major overhaul of how global health is financed, stressing that Africa can no longer depend on what he described as an outdated model of donor dependency.