The G4 Alliance Consortium, in partnership with Mercy Ships, the Diaspora African Forum (DAF), and the Government of Ghana, will host a high-level Global Surgical Care Summit in Accra from November 9 to 10.
The two-day summit aims to accelerate access to safe, quality, and affordable surgical care as part of a renewed continental push for health sovereignty and equity.
The conference will gather health ministers from across Africa, regional health bodies, global financiers, clinicians, and over 80 international organizations under the G4 Alliance framework to address one of global health’s most persistent gaps: the lack of timely, accessible surgical intervention.
Dr. Evelyn Abayaah-Issah, Co-founder and Governing Council Member of WIPHA and a Director at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, highlighted the critical importance of the summit in driving surgical care forward. Ghana brings a strong foundation to the dialogue, backed by its active National Surgical, Obstetric, and Anesthesia Plan (NSOAP) implementation committee, whose framework serves as a model across the continent.
Pre-summit activities will include a training session at the University of Ghana Hospital on November 5, followed by a delegate visit to the Global Mercy hospital ship docked at Tema Port on November 7.
Dr. Juliette Tuakli, a pediatrician, reproductive health specialist, founder of CHILD Accra, and board member of Mercy Ships, emphasized the conference’s core focus on equitable access:
“The G4 Alliance dialogue will reflect a shared commitment to ensuring that access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care is determined by medical need — not by geography or financial circumstances,” Dr. Tuakli stated.
“It is particularly fitting to gather in Ghana, a country that has demonstrated considerable leadership in developing its national surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia plan. Ghana has shown what can be achieved when governments, healthcare professionals, and international partners work together toward a common purpose.”
She noted, however, that policy commitments must now translate into concrete action on the ground.
Reverberating this sentiment, H.E. Ambassador Erieka Bennett, Founder and Head of Mission at the Diaspora African Forum (DAF), encouraged local participation in the upcoming training sessions and conference to help build local clinical capacity and strengthen Ghana’s surgical care delivery.
