By Emmanuel Gamson
Takoradi, July 23, GNA – The Ghana AIDS Commission has raised concerns over the rising number of HIV cases recorded in the Western and Western North regions within the past years.
Mr. Dramani Yakubu, the Technical Coordinator of the Commission for the two regions, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that recent data from the National Estimates and Projection indicated an increase in new infections, with the Western Region in particular recording over a thousand new HIV infections each year for the past five years.
According to him, the Western Region recorded 1,120 new HIV infections in 2024, noting that despite this being a slight drop from the 1,235 new infections recorded in 2023, the region still averaged three new cases daily, a figure that far exceeded the Commission’s annual target of fewer than 500 new cases per year.
He said: “This also feeds into the concerning trend of the region recording over 1,000 new infections every year over the past few years.”
On HIV prevalence rate in the region, Mr. Yakubu stated that despite a slight drop in the national HIV rate from 1.53 per cent in 2023 to 1.49 per cent in 2024, the figures in the Western region rather increased from 1.55 per cent in 2023 to 1.62 per cent in 2024.
“This puts the Western Region as the sixth region with the highest HIV prevalence, only behind Bono, Eastern, Ahafo, Greater Accra, and Bono East Regions in the country,” he added.
For the Western North region, the Technical Coordinator noted that the HIV prevalence decreased from 1.82 per cent in 2023 to 1.57 per cent in 2024.
He, however, expressed worry that the prevalence rate in the region was still above the national average in 2014, saying, “Having seen some improvement, the HIV the situation is still dire in the Western North Region.”
Mr. Yakubu said the vulnerability in the two regions could be attributed to several factors, such as mining activities, migration, commercial sex work, peer pressure influence, and poverty that had created high-risk environments for HIV transmission among the people.
He said: “Having concurrent multiple sexual partners, low condom use, poor treatment adherence for persons living with HIV, and HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination are also all exposing factors for infections.”
The Technical Coordinator said there were also concerns about gender disparities in the HIV situation in the regions, stating that females accounted for about 65 per cent of the HIV population and new infections in the regions.
This trend, Mr. Yakubu said, was linked largely to biological susceptibility rather than behavioral factors.
“Again, many individuals living with HIV still fear disclosing their status due to social stigma, which hampers treatment adherence and community support,” he added.
On the way forward, Mr. Yakubu reiterated that HIV was everyone’s business and urged the citizenry to take personal responsibility and avoid behaviours that increased their exposure to the virus.
He advocated safe sexual practices, routine HIV testing and public education as pillars of the decentralized HIV and AIDS response.
Mr. Yakubu also asked for support from all stakeholders, be it financial or technical, “as we unite in responding to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the regions and the country in general.”
GNA
Edited by Justina Paaga/Benjamin Mensah