Dr Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi
The Volta and Brong-Ahafo Regions topped the regional HIV prevalence with 2.7 percent, the 2016 HIV Sentinel Survey HSS Report indicates.
The report also pegged Eastern, Ashanti, Western and Upper West Regions as having HIV prevalence higher than the national prevalence of 2.4 percent.
The Northern Region, however, had the lowest prevalence of 0.7 percent.
Breaking down the figures for other regions, the report stated, “The prevalence for the regions are Eastern, 2.6 percent; Ashanti, 2.6 percent; Western, 2.5 percent; Upper West, 2.5 percent; Greater Accra, 2.4 percent; Central, 1.8 percent and Upper East, 1.7 percent.”
HIV prevalence was higher in urban areas, hitting 2.5 percent, compared to 1.9 percent for rural areas.
The 2016 HIV Sentinel Survey Report revealed that the young population between the ages of 15 and 24, a proxy for new infections remained unchanged at 1.1 percent.
The Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), Dr Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi, pointed out that the country is currently experiencing a generalised HIV epidemic.
She said the GAC will scale-up the provision of high-impact HIV prevention services to key populations in order to have a stable decline of the epidemic in the country.
“Our efforts at reducing new infections within the general population cannot succeed without provision of high-impact HIV prevention services, therefore, we will continue to scale up targeted HIV prevention services,” she highlighted.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri