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Prez Mahama to host AU summit on universal health coverage and ending AIDS
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President John Dramani Mahama will host an Extraordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Accra from July 21 to 22, 2026, to discuss ways of improving healthcare across the continent.
According to a statement issued by the Presidency Communications Office on Tuesday, the summit will be held under the theme: “Advancing Justice, Equity and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, TB, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases and Conditions in Africa.”
The statement, signed by the Minister for Government Communications and Presidential Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said the meeting would bring together African Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Health, Finance and Foreign Affairs, officials of the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, development partners, civil society organisations, youth representatives and private sector actors.
It said participants would discuss ways to strengthen Africa’s health systems and accelerate the achievement of universal health coverage across the continent.
According to the statement, the summit will begin on July 21 with a meeting of experts from member states.
The meeting will involve senior officials from the ministries responsible for health, finance and economic planning to prepare technical recommendations for ministers and Heads of State.
It said the Assembly of Heads of State and Government would meet on July 22 to consider and adopt key decisions on Africa’s health priorities, including a declaration to speed up the implementation of the African Union Roadmap to 2030.
The Presidency said Ghana’s hosting of the summit reflects President Mahama’s commitment to expanding access to quality healthcare and promoting health equity across Africa.
It noted that the government has introduced several health initiatives, including the Free Primary Health Care Programme, the uncapping of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to improve access to healthcare, and the establishment of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, known as “MahamaCares,” to support universal health coverage.
The statement added that the government is also investing in health infrastructure, training healthcare workers, strengthening emergency preparedness and promoting local pharmaceutical manufacturing.
It further announced that President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, the African Union Champion for Maternal and Child Health, will lead a side event on maternal, newborn, child and adolescent survival in partnership with the Accra Reset initiative.
The Presidency welcomed all Heads of State, delegates and stakeholders to Ghana and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to working with the African Union and its member states to improve healthcare and achieve universal health coverage across the continent.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency, Mustapha Gbande, has alleged that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) appears more concerned and emotionally invested in the imprisonment of its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, than the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Speaking on Joy Prime on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Accra, Mr. Gbande argued that the NPP played a major role in the legal process that led to Wontumi’s conviction.
According to him, the law under which Wontumi was convicted originally carried a maximum prison sentence of three years but was later amended by the NPP administration to increase the maximum punishment to 15 years.
“The law that jailed Wontumi was three years. The NPP enhanced it to 15 years,” he stated.
Mr. Gbande further claimed that the evidence used to prosecute Wontumi was gathered during the previous NPP administration.
He maintained that the case against the NPP chairman did not begin under the current government but was built by officials who served in the former administration.
“The docket that jailed Wontumi was built by the NPP. The evidence that convicted him was built by the NPP,” he asserted.
To support his argument, Mr. Gbande referred to actions taken by the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in July 2022, when the minister declared activities linked to Wontumi in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve illegal.
He stressed that once an activity has been declared illegal, it remains a breach of the law regardless of who is involved.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has warned that traders, transport operators, businesses and individuals who refuse to accept Ghana cedi coins as payment for goods and services could face arrest, prosecution, fines or imprisonment.
In a public notice issued on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, the central bank expressed concern over the widespread refusal to accept 1 pesewa, 5 pesewa, 10 pesewa, 20 pesewa and 50 pesewa coins, as well as the GH¢1 and GH¢2 coins.
It explained that all coins issued by the Bank of Ghana remain legal tender and must be accepted for transactions across the country.
According to the BoG, none of the coins has been withdrawn from circulation or demonetised, and no trader, transport operator, business or individual has the right to reject them because they consider them inconvenient or of low value.
The bank cited the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612), as amended, and the Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), as the laws governing the use of the country’s currency.
It noted that under the Currency Act, refusing to sell goods or provide services simply because a customer is paying with legal tender coins or banknotes is a criminal offence, unless the currency has been withdrawn from circulation.
The BoG stated that anyone convicted of the offence could face up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
It added that people who encourage or instruct others to reject coins, including business owners who direct their employees to do so, are equally liable under the law.
The bank further indicated that a person caught committing the offence may be arrested without a warrant.
To ensure compliance, the BoG said it would work with the Ghana Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to enforce the law against offenders.
It encouraged members of the public to report cases of coin rejection to the nearest Bank of Ghana office, the Ghana Police Service or through the bank’s official communication channels.
The central bank called on individuals, businesses and institutions to accept and handle Ghana’s currency responsibly in all its denominations, saying this would help uphold confidence in the country’s legal tender.
By: Jacob Aggrey
