Ghana on US aid cuts: ‘As bridges are burning, new bridges are formed’

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has warned the United States it will lose influence abroad to other major powers because of its massive aid cuts, telling the Munich Security Conference: “As bridges are burning, new bridges are being formed.” Mahama told a conference side meeting that his country has been forced to make $156 million in spending cuts to economic growth and education plans, and — “the most critical” — health care programs because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aid freeze. Those $78 million of health cuts would hit children’s care and maternity services, as well as HIV testing and access to antiretroviral drugs previously provided by PEPFAR, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Mahama said. However, Ghana’s leader struck a positive note, arguing the painful decisions would result in Africa becoming “more self-reliant,” boosting food production and reducing trade barriers across the continent. On the impact for the United States of its retreat on the world stage, he said: “One thing the U.S. will lose is that soft power it has wielded in the world — I mean, these are people that are grateful for the assistance they get. “There are many other partners. The U.S. are not our only partner. We will continue to cooperate with other countries and that’s why we have a multipolar world,” he said, without mentioning the widely predicted main beneficiary, which is China. “As bridges are burning, new bridges are being formed. We need to look for those new bridges and link the world with those new bridges,” Mahama added. Ghana received about $150 million in bilateral development assistance from the U.S., its most prominent development partner, in 2024. But its president said “in all adversity there is opportunity,” telling the meeting: “It sends a signal to Africa that the time has come for us to be more self-reliant, especially when it comes to issues with the vulnerable in our society.” Asked if Trump’s approach will prompt the completion of an African free trade area, Mahama replied: “Definitely it will.” He added: “If that aid stops coming, we would do the investments that are necessary to make our farmers more productive so that we can establish food security in Africa instead of waiting for those U.S. aid handouts to come.” Mahama was speaking at the opening of the three-day event, bringing together more than 200 government leaders and ministers, with more than 30% of speakers expected to be from the global south. Much of the focus is on how Europe’s leaders will react to Trump attempting to strike a private agreement with Russia to end the Ukraine war, to U.S. demands for much higher defense spending, and to U.S. tariffs that threaten a global trade war. However, Munich is also the first major meeting of world leaders since the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle USAID, its aid agency — and José Manuel Albares, Spain’s foreign affairs minister, was the first politician of probably many to be asked how the world will respond to that. Speaking at the same meeting, Albares said: “Funds have been cut off, programs are shuttering. Is Europe going to step up and say, we are going to put in more, we're going to take on the mantle of soft power that USAID had? I hope so. “I cannot talk on behalf of all the European Union. Spain is already doing it. We haven't waited for this moment, we have tripled our development aid programs and we have doubled our emergency aid to Africa.”