Over 20,000 Ghanaians test positive for HIV in first half of 2022

National STIs and HIV/AIDS Control Programme statistics have shown that a total of 23,495 people tested positive for HIV in the first half of 2022.

This, hence, has triggered a network of institutions leading the HIV and AIDS response in the country to begin national stakeholder engagements as part of processes to review interventions for better outcomes.

The Ghana HIV&AIDS Network (GHANET), a non-profit organisation leading HIV interventions in the country, said the move had become necessary because, despite efforts at reducing new infections and ending AIDS, the desired impact seemed far from being achieved.

Speaking at one of such stakeholder engagements in Accra, the President of the network, Ernest Ortsin, said the surge, coupled with undesired outcomes, justified how critical it had become for stakeholders to rethink existing interventions to help keep the surge under control.

The workshop was organised by the network, in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).

It was on the theme, “Rethinking HIV interventions for vulnerable populations in the country”.

Participants included media persons, policymakers, representatives of security agencies, traditional and religious leaders, and market women, among others.

They deliberated on new programmes and interventions to adopt for action in the next Country Operational Plan (COP).

A public health consultant and Vice-Chair of the Country Coordinating Mechanism of the Global Fund, Dr Nii Nortey Hanson-Nortey, mentioned the key focus of national interventions to include mass education, testing, administration of pre-and post-exposure prophylaxis, promotion of condom use and anti-retroviral treatment.

He, however, said stigmatisation, the use of only a clinical approach for the administration of pre-and post-exposure prophylaxis and anti-retroviral treatment are some of the major setbacks in its effort.

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