President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday presented the 2026 State of Peace and Security in Africa report at the 12th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa at Bahir Dar in Ethiopia and reiterated the need for a new regional security accord to help strengthen cooperation among West African countries.
He also reiterated the need for the African Union (AU) to hold governments accountable for failing to implement agreed peace and security measures.
He said political divisions among regional blocs had weakened collective efforts to tackle insecurity, while African governments continued to struggle to translate existing agreements into practical results.
The report presented by President Mahama on Saturday (October 24, 2026) covers the period from January 2025 to June 2026 and examines the political and economic conditions contributing to conflicts across the continent.
The President's proposal follows his earlier assessment that the Accra Initiative, established to strengthen regional cooperation against terrorism and violent extremism in West Africa, had stalled.
President Mahama said Ghana was working to establish a new regional cooperation arrangement in West Africa considering the fact that the Accra Initiative, seems to have run aground.
At the Tana Forum, President Mahama identified the proposed Sahel-Gulf of Guinea Accord as a coalition of willing countries to promote peace and security.
He said Ghana was working with neighbouring countries to promote bilateral, minilateral and multilateral security cooperation.
He said the divisions between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) had weakened regional efforts to address security threats.
Mr Mahama said Ghana had maintained engagement with AES countries despite their differences with ECOWAS.
The President also called on the AU and regional economic communities to assess governments' compliance with peace and security agreements and openly identify failures to meet their obligations.
He said Africa had developed several policies and agreements but had struggled to implement them effectively.
