Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has made a passionate appeal to world leaders to redirect funds from military expenditure toward global child immunization programs.
In a Facebook post on June 26, 2025, President Mahama shared videos of which he highlighted the Gavi Alliance’s ambitious plan to invest $9 billion between 2026 and 2030 to vaccinate 500 million children worldwide. He emphasized that such an initiative would not only save millions of lives but also empower children to become future leaders in science, medicine, education, and other critical fields. Mahama framed the issue as a moral imperative, urging nations to choose between “saving lives and taking them.”
To underscore his point, Mahama compared the cost of vaccines to the price of advanced military hardware. He noted that a single B-2 Spirit bomber, recently used in airstrikes on Iran, costs $2.13 billion—meaning the entire Gavi initiative amounts to the price of just four such bombers. “Surely, the world can invest the equivalent cost of four B-2 bombers to save 500 million children,” he argued. His remarks reflect growing global debates about budget priorities, particularly as conflicts and defense spending continue to overshadow public health investments in many regions.
President Mahama’s call aligns with broader advocacy for equitable healthcare access and sustainable development. By framing immunization as a strategic and ethical investment, he challenges leaders to reconsider their spending choices.
“It’s a choice we have to make between taking lives and saving lives,” he concluded, expressing confidence that humanity would choose the latter. His message resonates at a time when preventable diseases remain a leading cause of child mortality in low-income countries, despite the availability of cost-effective vaccines.
