HIV Prevalence Still High In Ghana: Official Reports Show 23,495 Test Positive In Six Months

• HIV is still prevalent in Ghana, according to figures released by the National HIV/AIDS Control Programme
• Some 23,495 people have tested positive for the HIV disease from January to June 2022
• Health officials said although last year's half-year recorded infection of 25,545 was higher, the trend was alarming

The National STIs and HIV/AIDS Control Programme has revealed that some 23,495 people have tested positive for the HIV disease from January to June 2022.

Programme Manager, Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo, said although last year's half-year recorded infection of 25,545 was higher, the trend was alarming.

He told state-owned Daily Graphic newspaper that high figures call for more education to tell Ghanaians that the virus was still real.

"It is around and there must be constant reminders. We have to let people know that they need to stick to the prevention strategies, whether they are children or adults," he said.

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He said this year, a total of 948,094 people had taken the HIV test, meaning that 2% of people who took the test from January to June 2022 have tested positive for the virus.

Segments who took the tests include the following:

• Men
• Pregnant women,
• Non-pregnant women,
• Homosexuals, and
• Female hookers

Reasons For High HIV Prevalence In Ghana

Dr Ayisi Addo said the high prevalence of the virus in Ghana was because it was still circulating among the population through sexual intercourse.

He said the transmission would be high as long as people were engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse and getting married.

He also said ignorance and complacency by the public were viable causes of the high HIV prevalence.

Also, health authorities had stalled public education about the virus and its dangers, Dr Ayisi Addo said. He said the public thinks HIV is no longer a problem.

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"Some youth today don't know HIV is there. Some know, but they have assumed that it's gone. People are now more afraid of COVID-19 and the Marburg fever than they are of AIDS," he said.

HIV Infection Recently High Among Pregnant Women In Ghana - Report

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported in a previous story that Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo has revealed that HIV infection is high among pregnant women in Ghana.

According to him, the surge in the cases among pregnant women can be attributed to the increased confidence in infertility among persons living with HIV.

In a report filed by Asaaseradio.com, Dr Addo said data analysis in a Sentinel Survey conducted in 2020 revealed that women who had been pregnant more than once had a higher prevalence compared to first pregnancies partly because of their confidence that they could have healthy babies.

Source: YEN.com.gh