According to the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), low condom use among young people—particularly adolescent girls and young women—is significantly hindering efforts to curb HIV infections in the Volta Region. Presently, there are 19,078 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the region, accounting for 5.7 percent of the national PLHIV population of 334,721.
Of these, 4,999 are males over the age of 15, 12,881 are females over 15, and 1,198 are children. This information was shared by Mary Naa Asheley Anyomi, the Volta Regional Technical Coordinator of the GAC, last Monday during the inauguration of the newly reconstituted Regional Committee of the Ghana AIDS Commission in Ho.
She said the general population prevalence rate in the region stood at 2.1 per cent, while the rate was 4.3 per cent among female sex workers (FSW) and 28.1 per cent among men who have sex with men (MSM). Mrs Anyomi said there were now 809 fresh cases of HIV in the region, including 221 males above 15 years and 519 females above 15, in addition to 69 children.
Mrs. Anyomi reported that anti-retroviral treatment coverage across the 18 districts ranged from 38.4% to 61.5%. The Regional Technical Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) further disclosed that HIV intervention programmes in the region were entirely donor-funded and remained limited in scope. She emphasised that stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV) continue to hinder testing, treatment uptake, and disclosure.
Looking ahead, Mrs. Anyomi underscored the urgent need to expand HIV testing services so that more individuals are aware of their status. She also called for the implementation of community-based testing initiatives to better reach remote and marginalised populations. She highlighted the need to promote condom use and make them readily accessible across the region.
The nine-member committee has the Regional Minister, James Gunu, as chairman. In a speech read on his behalf, he pledged the Volta Regional Coordinating Council’s support to all efforts by GAC towards ending AIDS by 2030. “Together, we will work to ensure the municipalities and districts in the region have active and functional committees of the commission, and that all stakeholders play their respective roles,” he added.
Mr Gunu urged members of the committee to discharge their duties with diligence, passion, and integrity. The other members of the committee were selected from the Ghana Health Service, Network of Associations of Persons Living with HIV, a Civil Society Organisation, Ghana Education Service, the Volta Region House of Chiefs, and GAC.
Source: Alberto Mario Noretti
