President John Dramani Mahama has raised serious concerns over the consequences of the cessation of operations by the United States Agency for International Development, warning that the development could significantly worsen poverty and global health outcomes across Africa.
Speaking at the 79th World Health Assembly on Monday, 18 May 2026, the President cautioned that recent shifts in international development assistance are already having far reaching humanitarian and health impacts, particularly on vulnerable populations across the continent.
He warned that projections indicate that approximately 5.7 million Africans could be pushed into poverty by the end of 2026 as a direct consequence of the funding withdrawal, stressing that the implications extend beyond health to broader socio economic stability.
The President also cited data suggesting that abrupt reductions in external health financing, including support linked to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, have contributed to clinic disruptions, interruptions in gender based violence interventions, and uncertainty over continued treatment for millions of people living with HIV.
He noted that in countries such as South Africa, an estimated 1.4 million patients have been affected by disruptions in HIV related services, raising concerns about continuity of care and long term public health outcomes.
President Mahama further warned that if current trends persist, up to nine million preventable deaths could occur by 2030, describing the situation as a major threat to global health security and development progress.
He emphasised that the estimated poverty impact of 5.7 million people is not limited to health systems alone but reflects wider vulnerabilities in social and economic structures across affected countries.
The remarks follow the formal shutdown of USAID operations on 1 July 2025, which marked the end of more than six decades of United States led development assistance supporting health, education, agriculture, and governance programmes across Africa.
The closure reportedly followed an internal policy review under the United States’ “America First” approach, which cited concerns over inefficiencies and management challenges in foreign aid delivery systems, leading to a major restructuring of global development assistance frameworks.
