Lordina Mahama

Lordina Mahama (née Effah; born 6 March 1963) is the current First Lady of Ghana since January 2025. She previously served as first lady from 2012 to 2017. She is married to the President of Ghana, John Mahama. She was the Second Lady of Ghana from 2009 to 2012.

Prior to becoming Second Lady, Lordina Mahama's husband served as a member of the Parliament of Ghana representing the Bole-Bamboi constituency from 1997 to 2008.

Raised in Brong-Ahafo and Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana, Mahama is a trained caterer and a Hospitality manager. She is a graduate of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), where she acquired both a degree in Hospitality Management and a Masters in Governance and Leadership. She is also a graduate of the De Montfort University in the United Kingdom. She had her initial training in Tamale, Ghana, at the Tishigu Anglican elementary school. She then proceeded to the Ghana Secondary School in Tamale, where she finished her GCE education. It was at Ghana Secondary School that Lordina met her future husband, John Dramani Mahama. and received a four-year college education in Hospitality Management at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Mahama graduated with a Master of Laws (LLM) in Business Law/International Business Law from the De Montfort University in the United Kingdom in 2019.

Political roles Second Lady of Ghana Mrs. Mahama became Second Lady when her husband John Dramani Mahama, the former President of the Republic of Ghana, became the vice-president of Ghana to President John Evans Atta-Mills on 7 January 2009. She served as Second Lady until July 2012, when she became First Lady of Ghana.

First lady of Ghana

In line with Ghana's constitution, her husband became President of Ghana on 24 July 2012 on the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills and was sworn in to Parliament in July 2012, automatically making her the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana. As First Lady she worked as an HIV/AIDS advocate, Breast and cervical cancer advocate, empowered women through her foundation and through Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) whilst also representing Ghana at different conferences and forums to discuss issues relating to women and children.

OAFLA In her tenure as First Lady, Mahama was also elected President of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) in June 2015. Before that, she had served as the Vice President for the West Africa Region of OAFLA.

As President of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA), Mahama was honored at the 50th International Women Luncheon of the Rainbow Push Coalition which took place in Chicago (USA) for her role and outstanding work in advocating for the destitute and vulnerable children in Africa and also in her role as president to empower women to take charge of their reproductive health rights, as well as end mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

HIV/AIDS advocacy From 2013 until she left office, Mahama worked with the Ghana AIDS Commission and other agencies to bring as integrated HIV and AIDS, Sexual Reproductive health, Breast and Cervical cancer services to all the then ten regions in Ghana. The decision to include HIV and AIDS service during such health outreach programs was due to being aware that people infected with HIV were more susceptible to developing cancers. Due to that during those outreaches, the former First Lady took the opportunity to also engage directly with leaders, members of the communities she visited to advocate for more people to know their status and start early treatment.

Breast and cervical cancer advocacy During her tenure, Mahama was an advocate for Breast and Cervical cancers. Through her foundation and her role as First Lady, she came up with initiatives for early detection screening of women especially within the rural areas of Ghana to ensure proper treatment if necessary.

Through her foundation and support from government and other private and non-governmental organisations, some girls in Ghana have been immunised against HPV by the GAVI vaccination initiative to prevent cervical cancer and other diseases. At the 8th conference, she announced that Ghana was going to start the implementation of a five-year National Strategy for Cancer Control to roll out various interventions that will help manage and control breast and cervical cancers, as well as other cancers in the country.

On 21 July 2015, she called on other first ladies at the 9th Stop Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer (SCCA) conference in Nairobi, Kenya, not to see implements as a dream but rather develop initiatives and campaigns for action to be taken to ensure early detection and to lead a planned, sustained campaign and work with related agencies and organizations to support cancer prevention and control in Africa. Over the period she served she made several donations to these orphanages and several others.

In May 2014, she visited the Gambaga Witch Camp and donated Bags of rice, utensils, pieces of clothes and other items for their up keep. She began the construction of accommodation facilities for the alleged witches at the Gambaga camp. She also visited Nyohini Children's Home and the Anfaani Orphanage in Tamale, where she interacted with the children and made donations food items including bags of rice, sugar, milk, toiletries and others for the upkeep of kids at the orphanages. She also donated Covid-19 prevention items to this camp.

In December 2016, she along with Nana Oye Lithur, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection inaugurated an accommodation complex for toddlers financed by her foundation at the Osu Children's Home. She also presented food items and bales of clothes to support the children in celebrating the Christmas. She began a training centre building project at the camp called the Gambaga Training Centre to provide vocational training and other entrepreneur skills to serve women and girls within the camp and near by communities. These skills were to help empower them and help start their own enterprises after completion. As part of the training centre she was putting up a hostel facility for students in and around Gambaga who would want to train at the centre.

She also made several donations of start-up kits to artisans across the country who had completed and graduated from vocational training centres and institutes to facilitate their entry into the business world and help them establish their own enterprises and businesses, these included donations in support with the Chinese Embassy in Ghana through their Ambassador Sun Baohong.

Personal life Lordina is married to John Dramani Mahama and together they have five children named Shafik, Shahid, Sharaf, Jesse and Farida. She speaks English, Hausa, Dagbani and Twi fluently.

Care for Rural areas In November 2024, former First Lady Lordina Mahama advocated for better healthcare access in rural Ghana at a health event in Tamale North. She emphasized the importance of regular health screenings and donated essential medical equipment to the Tishigu Health Centre through her foundation.

Tamale North MP Alhassan Suhuyini expressed appreciation, noting support from local leaders and the MP’s Common Fund in developing the center. An award for campaign for cervical cancer, Maputo, Mozambique. Award for cervical cancer advocacy, Windhoek, Namibia. Global Inspiration Leadership Award at the Africa-Middle East-Asia summit in Dubai. Enstooled as Development Queen in Bodom in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. Enstooled as Development Queen in Ampoma in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana.