World AIDS Day 2024 Special Message by GHANET
President for Ghana HIV and Aids Network, Mr ERNEST AMOABENG ORTSIN has call on the General public to be caution about sexual intercourse said As we celebrate the 2024 World AIDS Day, under the theme, Take the Rights Path: Ending AIDS
Together (Stepping Up Prevention Efforts), Ghana HIV and AIDS Network(GHANET) would like
to seize this opportunity to remind all Ghanaians that the fight against HIV and Aids Is not yet over.
He said as a matter of fact, even though our national prevalence has declined to 1.53%the rate of new
infections is quite alarming.For example,earlier this year,Ghana AIDS Commission(GAC) reported
that cases of new infections in the year 2023was 17,774. Also, in November this year,National
AIDS/STI Control Programme (NACP) reported that between January and September this year,
2024, the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases came up to about 34,000.
Clearly, the above data shows that HIV and AIDS still remains a menace, in spite all the gains we have
made over the years.We, therefore, on this day, wish to make a special appeal to all Ghanaians,
especially the youth,to exercise caution towards risky sexual behaviours. Recent reports of upsurge in
sex parties (orgies) and hookups(transactional sex), coupled with reports of low usage of condoms is
quite worrying.
He therefore wish to appeal to Government to consider introducing newer interventions and strategies in
the fight against HIV and AIDS. For example, the recent introduction of HIV Self-Testing (HIVST)
kits has been widely embraced by the Ghanaian public and there is now a soaring demand for the kits.
In the same vein, we believe that amass rollout of interventions on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PreP)
and Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)will gain high acceptance and popularity, especially among the
youth and shore up condom usage. We encourage the private sector, particularly community
pharmacies,to support such initiatives and make these commodities available in all nooks and cranny
across the country.
Ghana’s progress towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, at the present time,is uninspiring.The
country has been able to test only 65% of the estimated 334,000 persons living with HIV (PLHIV).
And, out of the number of people tested, only 69% have been put on treatment. And for those on
treatment, only 89% have achieved viral suppression.
A major factor affecting Ghana’s national response is the absence of a dedicated fund to support
interventions. The promise of succeeding governments to establish an AIDS Fund has only been paid
lip service over the years. At the moment, Global Fund is the biggest donor for HIV and AIDS
interventions in the country. Quite impressively, the Global Fund, has since 2002 invested about 1.5
billion US dollars in the fight against HIV and AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Ghana.
However, it is concerning to note that Global Fund is currently making transitional arrangements that
may see its support for countries come to an end. It is on this basis that we wish to vociferously call
on government to operationalize the National HIV and AIDS Fund (NHAF) as proposed by the GAC
Act, 2016(Act 938).
Finally, as Ghana prepares to host the 23rd edition of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs
in Africa (ICASA 23)in December 2025,GHANET calls for support from all sections of the
Ghanaian society to make the event a grand success.
We wish all Ghanaians a happy celebration!
Story by Bismark Oppong/www.ghanansemonline.com
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