Accra — Ghana has turned down a proposed health partnership with the United States, citing provisions that would have allowed US entities broad access to sensitive Ghanaian health data without sufficient safeguards, an official said.
Arnold Kavaarpuo, executive director of Ghana’s Data Protection Commission, said the requested scope of access “went far beyond what would typically be required for the purpose for which it’s stated.” He said the draft agreement would have permitted access not only to health datasets but also to metadata, dashboards, reporting tools, data models and data dictionaries, and could allow identification of individuals in sensitive health records. Kavaarpuo warned this amounted to “outsourcing the health data architecture of the country to a foreign body.”
The proposed deal, valued at roughly USD 300 million, would have delivered about USD 109 million in US funding to Ghana over five years, supplemented by investments from the Ghanaian government. Kavaarpuo said the draft allowed as many as 10 US entities to access the data on the basis of notification rather than requiring Ghana’s prior approval, leaving Ghana with limited oversight over how the information would be used.
The United States has pursued similar health agreements with nearly two dozen African countries. The effort began during the Trump administration’s “America First” orientation and has since evolved into a new framework intended to reshape parts of US global health engagement. The deals are presented as commitments of hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster public health systems and outbreak response after earlier aid reductions.
But the agreements have provoked resistance across Africa over concerns about data privacy, national sovereignty and equitable terms. Zimbabwe rejected a comparable pact in February; Zambia reportedly pushed back on portions of its draft; and activists have criticized some arrangements as restrictive or biased toward particular providers, citing concerns in Nigeria where US-supported efforts were seen as favoring Christian faith-based health services. Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya has also expressed “huge concerns” about data and pathogen-sharing tied to these deals.
Ghana has notified the United States of its decision and says it will seek improved terms before proceeding. The US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
