• President of the Society Against AIDS in Africa,
• Distinguished Board Members,
• Members of the International Steering Committee of ICASA,
• Members of SAA,
• Ladies and gentlemen,

I bring you warm greetings and compliments from the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. I also convey the compliments of the Ministry of Health. It is both a privilege and a pleasure to welcome you to Ghana for this important ICASA 2025 marathon meeting.

As Minister of Health, and in my capacity as Vice President of this landmark conference, I wish to reaffirm the Government of Ghana’s commitment in hosting ICASA 2025. This conference, under the theme “Catalysing Integrated Sustainable Response to End AIDS, TB and Malaria”, comes at a most critical moment in our shared commitment to health on the continent. The call to action is clear: in an era of declining and withdrawn donor funding, Africa must rise to the challenge of ownership, sovereignty, and self-determination in its national health responses.

This marathon session serves as an important space to shape the conversations, refine our agenda, and ensure that when ICASA 2025 opens formally, we are aligned, focused, and ready to deliver outcomes that matter—not just declarations, but actionable commitments. It is here that we set the tone for how ICASA will respond to the pressing needs of our people.

In line with His Excellency the President’s Reset Agenda, I am proud to announce the Government of Ghana’s commitment to closing the funding gap from donor cuts in our health programmes and advancing a roadmap towards health financing sovereignty. Only two weeks ago, Ghana had the honour of hosting the African Health Sovereignty Conference, which brought together leaders from across the continent and beyond to deliberate on reimagining global health architecture. The outcomes were significant, among them was the launch of the SUSTAIN initiative to promote country-led, investment-driven health systems, drawing on domestic resources and the engagement of the private sector.

For Ghana, this means concrete investments in scaling up HIV prevention and treatment, expanding access to life-saving TB and malaria interventions, strengthening primary healthcare delivery, and investing in the health workforce. Importantly, it also means addressing the social and structural drivers of HIV—stigma, discrimination, and inequities that too often hold back progress.

Ladies and Gentlemen, ICASA 2025 is fully aligned with this national and continental vision. It offers a vital platform to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and collaborate on innovative strategies to address HIV, TB, and malaria. The Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Health and our political leadership is fully focused on ensuring the success of this conference and to honouring all our sponsorship obligations.

I call on colleague Governments to prioritise domestic investment and to support the full participation of their delegations at ICASA 2025. For it is through our collective presence, voices, and contributions that this conference will achieve the true purpose of advancing Africa’s leadership in ending HIV/AIDS.

As we embark on today’s deliberations, let us be bold in identifying the gaps, creative in designing solutions, and united in ensuring that ICASA 2025 becomes a turning point in Africa’s health response.

Before I end, please permit me to extend my deep appreciation to the organisers of ICASA 2025 for their tireless efforts and to entreat you all to continue with the same enthusiasm and commitment.

Thank you.