A policy article co-authored by a Kent State University professor has drawn international attention — including an official repost by the Office of the President of Ghana.
Felix Kumah-Abiwu, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Africana Studies and founding director of the Center for African Studies at Kent State, co-authored a policy brief with Emeritus Professor Jeffrey Haynes of London Metropolitan University. The piece, “Is the Accra Reset Initiative the Answer to Africa’s Underdevelopment?” was published on February 12, 2026, by Africa at LSE, the Africa-focused blog of the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
The article examines the Accra Reset Initiative (ARI), a new global development framework introduced by Ghana’s President John Mahama. The ARI, which was officially launched at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, seeks to fundamentally redefine Africa’s development model by reducing what President Mahama describes as a “tripled dependency” on foreign actors for security, social services, and mineral value chains.
The initiative is built on three core principles — sovereignty, workability, and shared value — and identifies five key pillars: strengthening public health institutions; expanding local manufacturing of vaccines and medical supplies; developing a skilled health workforce; promoting domestic health investment; and fostering equitable international partnerships. Underpinning the ARI is a strategic shift from foreign aid to investment through “prosperity spheres” designed to build self-sustaining local systems across the continent.
Shortly after publication, the Jubilee House — the Office of the President of Ghana, the equivalent of the White House in the United States — reposted the article on its official Facebook page, amplifying the research to a global audience and underscoring the policy relevance of the work.
“This is an extraordinary recognition,” Kumah-Abiwu said. “Having the Office of the President of Ghana share our work means the research and our ideas are being seen at the highest levels of African governance.”
Kumah-Abiwu founded the Center for African Studies within the Department of Africana Studies in 2019 to promote awareness and understanding of contemporary African issues across the university and the broader Ohio community. His research spans African politics, development policy and pan-African leadership, and this latest publication extends that work to an international policymaking audience.
To read the full article, visit: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2026/02/12/is-the-accra-reset-initiative-the-answer-to-africas-underdevelopment/
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