Ghana said no to US health money; now we must protect the data we kept

Ghana has rejected a US health compact, refusing to hand over citizens' medical records and pathogen data. President Mahama explained the decision at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The US offered $109 million over five years, with Ghana expected to fund the remainder. The deal would have allowed the US access to sensitive health data, including patient records and pathogen specimens, for up to 25 years.

Ghana is not alone in rejecting such agreements; 34 other countries, mostly in Africa, have also signed similar deals. Human Rights Watch has raised concerns that these agreements may lead to the exploitation of patient data and rights over pathogen samples by US drug companies, without the patients' consent. Ghana has a legal framework for data protection, but many facilities still rely on paper records and lack proper security measures.

The country must now work on implementing a national protection plan for health data, starting with publishing its position on exports of identifiable patient records, reviewing existing agreements for data clauses, and classifying health data into tiers. Additionally, Ghana must set minimum security standards for electronic records and introduce a pathogen-sharing framework that ensures local co-authorship, access to results, and a share of any developed product.

The government should also ensure that national health data is hosted under Ghanaian jurisdiction, with locally held encryption keys, and train health data officers across the country.