The Director–General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene has revealed that new HIV infections have been consistently high, averaging twenty-one thousand (21,000) annually from 2017 – 2021.
He blamed this on the fact that Ghanaians have become overly complacent as far as HIV is concerned and as such the increase in high-risk behaviours. These behaviours such as multiple sex partners, and wrong and inconsistent or no use of condoms attributed greatly to these new infections.
Dr Atuahene said he is alarmed that adolescent girls and young women accounted for twenty per cent (20%) of the total new infections that occurred in 2021. He said the situation needed to be arrested urgently.
The Director–General of the Ghana AIDS Commission was speaking at a national durbar in Accra to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the commission and also commemorate this year’s World AIDS Day.
The Chairperson for the event, who is also the immediate-past Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Ambassador Dr Mokowa Blay Adu – Gyamfi said it is time to invest in scaling up comprehensive services on HIV prevention, treatment and care.
Dr Adu-Gyamfi who is currently the Presidential Advisor on HIV and AIDS added that stakeholders need concerted action, resilience and courage to accelerate progress to reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths.
Dr Adu – Gyamfi stressed the need to heighten support for adolescent girls disproportionately affected by HIV.
The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, who delivered the keynote address on behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, called on stakeholders to unite to kick out the stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients.
Source: Ebenezer Amankwah
