President John Dramani Mahama has been ranked fifth on the Devex Power 2026 list of 50 most powerful people of the world in development and changemaking.
President Mahama was recognised for leading the “Accra Reset,” an initiative pushing for a new model of African development, debt relief, and climate finance.
Backstory:
John Mahama assumed the presidency of Ghana in January.
This is his second term – but not his second consecutive term.
He was previously elected in 2012 but lost a re-election bid in 2016.
He has also served as Vice President, Parliamentarian, and in ministerial roles – and was the first co-chair of the United Nations Advocacy Group on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Why he is on the list:
President Mahama has emerged as a leading voice pushing for a new deal for African development – shaping debates on debt relief, trade reform, and climate finance, arguing that Africa must renegotiate its place in the global economic order rather than simply adapt to declining aid.
In August 2025, he hosted a group of African leaders, policymakers, and global health experts in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, where they launched a new vision toward African health sovereignty – rooted in national ownership and more equitable global cooperation.
They then reconvened during the U.N. General Assembly in September 2025, to expand the framework beyond health to development more broadly, and to move beyond the African continent to serve as a global agenda.
They had dubbed the initiative as the “Accra Reset,” an effort to declare an end to the era of development-as-usual and to push for the creation of new governance, business, and financing models in response to the U.S. aid cuts.
President Mahama has served as the leading, hands-on advocate of this new vision, with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo advising him.
GNA
02 Feb. 2026
Edited by Christabel Addo
