President John Dramani Mahama has declared Ghana's ambition to graduate from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, by 2030 and eventually transition into a donor country.

The announcement was made during the GAVI Global Summit on Health and Prosperity Through Immunisation held in Brussels.

"Ghana is committed to fast-tracking its graduation from GAVI support by 2030," President Mahama said.

"That’s our official timeline, but it is my hope that we will accelerate this process and follow the example of countries like Indonesia, eventually becoming a donor to GAVI ourselves."

The President highlighted Ghana’s immunisation achievements, stating that with GAVI’s support, the country has attained a 97% coverage rate.

However, he noted that an estimated 65,000 children in hard-to-reach areas remain unvaccinated.

“We’re proud of our partnership with GAVI, which has helped us reach this milestone,” he said. “But there’s still work to be done. That final 3% represents tens of thousands of children in remote locations.

We are determined to find and vaccinate every single one of them.”

President Mahama praised GAVI’s global impact, acknowledging how millions of children have been given a chance at healthy lives thanks to the alliance's interventions.

He added that Ghana’s lower-middle-income status has not prevented it from contributing meaningfully to vaccine financing.

“Our co-financing partnership with GAVI has seen us invest nearly $67 million in vaccines over recent years,” he stated.

“One of my first decisions as President was to uncap the National Health Insurance Fund, which had previously been restricted by a cap imposed by the former administration.”

This policy change, he explained, has made a significant difference:

“By removing the cap, we unlocked over 3.5 billion cedis in additional resources for the health insurance scheme. This allowed us to front-load $20 million this year toward our co-financing commitment with GAVI.”

In closing, President Mahama expressed deep gratitude to GAVI and its global donors for their unwavering commitment to child health in Ghana and beyond.

“On behalf of the children of Ghana, I extend my heartfelt thanks to GAVI.

We are proud of this partnership and sincerely grateful to all countries that have pledged new funds toward GAVI’s replenishment. Your support continues to save lives every day,” he said