Ghana has called for a major restructuring of global development cooperation during a high-level conference organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, warning that declining aid flows and rising debt burdens are placing developing countries under increasing economic pressure.
Representing John Dramani Mahama, Deputy Chief of Staff Nana Oye Bampoe Addo delivered a keynote address at the OECD headquarters during a gathering attended by more than 250 international development leaders.
The conference, convened by Mathias Cormann, focused on the future of global development cooperation.
In her address, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo described the current global aid landscape as deeply concerning, revealing that Official Development Assistance from Development Assistance Committee member countries declined by 23.1 per cent in real terms in 2025.
According to her, the reduction amounted to an estimated loss of about $50 billion within a single year and represented the sharpest annual decline ever recorded.
She further noted that bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa dropped by more than 26 per cent, while humanitarian assistance declined by nearly 36 per cent.
The Deputy Chief of Staff stated that African governments now spend over $80 billion annually on debt servicing, compared to approximately $95 billion in total external financial inflows.
Against this backdrop, she presented the Accra Reset as Africa’s response to what she described as a failing global development framework.
The initiative, co-founded by President Mahama, seeks to transform development cooperation through sovereign capacity building, institutional reform and mutual accountability among countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Nana Oye Bampoe Addo outlined several flagship programmes under the Accra Reset agenda, including reforms to the global health architecture, sovereign industrial coordination platforms and a cross-border digital skills initiative targeting 150,000 employment placements within five years.
She also urged the OECD to ensure that initiatives such as the Accra Reset are recognised as co-authored contributions in future development reports rather than being treated merely as consultation inputs.
The Ghanaian delegation later held bilateral discussions with Pilar Garrido to explore potential areas of collaboration between the OECD and the Accra Reset initiative.
On the second day of her visit, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo visited the Embassy of Ghana in France, where she met officials led by Ambassador Mavis Ama Frimpong.
During the meeting, she briefed embassy staff on the objectives of the Accra Reset initiative and assured them that “Ghana is back on track” under President Mahama’s leadership.
The Accra Reset is a Head-of-State-led initiative aimed at redesigning global development cooperation to better reflect the interests and priorities of countries in the Global South.
