Africa must finance its own peace agenda, President Mahama says

Africa’s peace efforts cannot be fully African-led if their financing remains dependent on outside support, President John Dramani Mahama said at an African Union summit in Luanda, Angola.

“African ownership of peace and security must be matched by African ownership of its financing,” Mahama said. He called for a financing system that is predictable enough for planning, flexible enough to respond to crises and sustainable enough to reduce excessive dependence on external resources.

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African ownership of peace and security must be matched by African ownership of its financing. We therefore need a financing architecture that is predictable enough to plan, flexible enough to respond, and sustainable enough to reduce excessive dependence on external resources.

Mahama welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 2719, adopted in 2023, which provides a framework for financing African Union-led operations through UN assessed contributions. He urged continued work to make that framework operational, while maintaining the principles of African ownership, accountability and shared responsibility for international peace and security.

He also called for the full implementation of mechanisms created under the AU’s peace and security architecture. The continent’s persistent and changing conflicts, he said, made the summit both timely and necessary. “Our task thus far is to ensure that these mechanisms are effectively implemented, better coordinated, and adequately resourced,” he said.

Mahama stressed that early warning must lead to early action, and that early action requires resources available quickly and predictably. He welcomed progress in operationalising the African Union Peace Fund and supported continued efforts to build it toward its $1 billion target.

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We encourage continued efforts towards the effective operationalisation of this framework, consistent with the principles of African ownership, accountability, and shared responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.

He urged faster implementation of the fund’s resource-mobilisation strategy, including effective use of the 0.2% import levy. He also called for stronger mobilisation of funding from African financial institutions, the private sector and other African sources. Conflict prevention, he said, must form part of the broader development agenda, with early-warning systems identifying not only imminent threats but also the grievances underlying them.

Mahama spoke at the AU’s 21st Extraordinary Session of Heads of State and Government on Sunday, August 30, 2026. The meeting considered a comprehensive decision, action plan and implementation matrix on conflict prevention and resolution.

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Our task thus far is to ensure that these mechanisms are effectively implemented, better coordinated, and adequately resourced.