President John Dramani Mahama has emphasized the strategic role of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) in coordinating Ghana's engagement with global philanthropic institutions. This is to ensure that grants and other development support align with national priorities. The President made these remarks during a courtesy call by Alex Soros, Chairman of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), in New York.
The engagement provided an opportunity for President Mahama to reaffirm the expanded mandate assigned to MiDA in 2025. MiDA serves as the Government's focal point for coordinating philanthropic, grant, and humanitarian partnerships. The President explained that Ghana needed a more coordinated approach to development assistance. International partners should work with the country to identify priority areas rather than supporting isolated interventions across multiple sectors.
President Mahama stressed the importance of partnerships that are aligned with national development needs. He said MiDA's role is to help ensure that support reaches the right areas and delivers maximum impact. Many philanthropic interventions cut across several sectors and can otherwise become caught up in institutional and bureaucratic processes. MiDA is responsible for coordinating grants and other forms of support being developed with Ghana's international partners.
The expanded mandate is intended to provide a coordinated platform for Ghana to engage global foundations, philanthropic organisations, and other grant-making institutions. This ensures that development resources are aligned with national priorities and managed with appropriate accountability. President Mahama used his interaction with Mr Soros to outline a broader philosophy underpinning Ghana's engagement with global philanthropy.
The President said while philanthropic organisations often have particular areas of interest, an uncoordinated approach could spread resources across too many areas without achieving sufficient impact. Ghana's approach should instead be based on dialogue with partners to identify the country's priorities and build partnerships around them. Greater African self-reliance must go hand in hand with stronger governance, accountability, transparency, and prudent management of domestic resources.
President Mahama highlighted Ghana's ongoing work around health sovereignty and the broader Accra Reset agenda. This agenda seeks to build more sustainable approaches to development financing and reduce excessive dependence on external humanitarian support. Mr Soros pointed to opportunities for further cooperation, including through the G20 platform, financing reforms, and areas relating to regional security and development.
The meeting comes as Ghana continues to engage major global foundations and philanthropic institutions around the country's development priorities. President Mahama cited collaboration involving institutions such as Gavi and the Global Fund. Ghana's engagement with global philanthropy has already expanded, and the country is working to promote greater health sovereignty and strengthen African agency.
Key points
- MiDA coordinates Ghana's engagement with global philanthropic institutions to align grants with national priorities.
- The expanded mandate of MiDA provides a coordinated platform for Ghana to engage global foundations and philanthropic organisations.
- Ghana's approach to global philanthropy is based on dialogue with partners to identify the country's priorities and build partnerships around them.
