President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled plans to bolster Ghana’s public health sector in response to the growing risk of virus outbreaks worldwide.
Speaking during his inaugural address on Tuesday at the Black Star Square, Mahama highlighted the urgent need for proactive measures to safeguard the nation’s health infrastructure.
The President emphasized the increasing threat posed by viruses potentially being released due to global warming, urban population density, and mass international travel. He explained: “The increase of the climate presence and, as the waters grow warmer, melting the Arctic ice and permafrost, there’s a greater likelihood for viruses that have been frozen and thought to be extinct for decades—perhaps centuries—to begin to spread and create another global pandemic.”
Referencing past and recent public health crises, Mahama mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, which resulted in significant global loss of life, and the Mpox outbreak of 2024, which led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of international concern.
The President assured Ghanaians of his administration’s commitment to reinforcing the nation’s public health systems. “My government will be working diligently to strengthen our public health systems while monitoring the global health situation so that when—not if, but when—the next pandemic occurs, the loss of lives in Ghana will be minimal,” he declared.
