At least 23,495 people in Ghana have tested positive for HIV, within the first half of this year (from January to June), according to the Programme Manager of the National STIs and HIV/AIDS Control Programme.
The figure is two per cent of the 948,094 people who undertook HIV testing from January to June 2022. They were from different segments of the population, namely: men, pregnant women, non-pregnant women, homosexuals and female sex workers.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic, Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo said even though last year’s half-year figure was 25,545, this year’s figure was too high.
“The figure for this new infection is too high, so we need to intensify education to let people know that HIV is 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.
He said of the number of people who presented themselves for testing, four per cent each were from the Bono, Ahafo, Eastern and Western North regions, while the Ashanti and the Greater Accra regions had three per cent each.
For the rest of the regions, he said, while some had two per cent, others had a percentage each.
Dr Ayisi Addo said most of the 23,495 people who tested positive had since been put on HIV treatment.
Reasons for new cases
On reasons for the new cases, the Programme Manager said unlike small pox and other diseases that had been eliminated, HIV was still circulating among the population, and that as long as people had sex and were getting married, they would transmit it to others.
He said complacency and ignorance were responsible for the new cases, explaining that because health authorities were no longer making noise about the dangers of the disease, people thought there was no longer a problem.
“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 pointed out.
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