Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie has commended President John Dramani Mahama for rejecting a proposed health compact with the United States over concerns about conditions attached to the agreement.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sarkodie thanked the President, describing the decision as a step towards restoring Ghana’s dignity and strengthening its standing on the international stage.
“Thank you, Mr. President… Hopefully one day we gain back the full respect deserved,” he wrote.
His comments follow President Mahama’s disclosure that Cabinet rejected the proposed health compact after raising concerns about some of its provisions.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Friday, September 25, 2026, President Mahama said the Ministry of Health had reviewed the compact, which was proposed as an alternative source of funding after Ghana lost support following the termination of USAID programmes.
The Ministry subsequently submitted a Cabinet Information Paper outlining details of the proposed agreement.
“And so the compact was brought to the cabinet, and we flagged several things in the compact,” President Mahama said.
According to him, a major concern was a provision that required Ghana to provide its pathogen profile, including information on diseases endemic to the country.
“It means that diseases that are endemic in Ghana. What are diseases endemic in Ghana? What is the pathogen profile of a country? I’m sure there are medical experts who understand that better than me,” he said.
President Mahama also raised concerns about a separate provision requiring Ghana to share medical records.
“I mean, who takes another country’s medical records? And so that was strange,” he said.
He further disclosed that the proposed agreement required Ghana to commit a specified amount of funding to the programme while limiting the Food and Drugs Authority’s (FDA) ability to inspect medicines and medical products imported under the arrangement.
President Mahama described the conditions as “humiliating”, saying Cabinet therefore rejected the compact within a short period.
“I mean, it was humiliating. And so it was the compact that was thrown out in record time in our cabinet. I’ve never seen anything thrown out as fast as that. And so, of course, we rejected it,” he said.
Sarkodie’s remarks have since sparked renewed attention to President Mahama’s account of the negotiations and the government’s decision to reject the proposed agreement.