Deaths resulting HIV have declined in Ghana over the last five years, Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, has disclosed.
He revealed this while addressing the media at the Information Ministry in Accra on Wednesday, June 16, 2021.
According to him, “Annual HIV/AIDS deaths have declined since 2017 from 17,000 to 13,000 in 2020 due to survival on ART with almost equal proportion for both genders.”
HIV 90-90-90 target over the 2016-2020 period
He stated that “HIV persons knowing their status is 40% to 74%.”
“HIV positive persons on ART is 39% to 69%,” he said, adding that “HIV diagnosed persons on ART with viral suppression is 58% to 73%.”
He said there has been lessened interval to recruit doctors after housemanship, adding that “It used to a minimum of six months before 2017 but is now seamless.”
Training and Recruitment
In 2020, he said the Health Training Institutions admitted 86,000 students into the 90 Public Health Training Institutions across the country for the 2020/2021Academic year.
“Proportion of health professionals recruited into the health sector increased from 10,061 (8%) to 58,1919 (49%) over the last four years (2017-2020).”
“68291 health professionals were recruited into the various cadres in the health profession between January 2020 to December 2020. Applications of 58,191 Health Professionals out of the 68291 were processed.”
“In the year 2020, the Government of Ghana paid an amount of One Hundred and Seventy-Three Million, Four Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc173, 400, 000.00) as the trainee allowance for Forty-Eight Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty-Seven (48,167) student in the Health Training Institutions across the country for the 2019/2020 academic year.”
“The Ministry of Health in the year 2020 compiled Seven Hundred and Twenty-Four (724) names of Health Workers who were due for promotion. Out of this figure, Six Hundred and Forty-Four (644) Health Workers were duly promoted and received their promotion letters. However, thirty-six (36) candidates were disqualified.”
By Melvin Tarlue