Fifty (50) people get infected with HIV each day, while 34 people die of AIDS-related causes, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has said.
According to Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene, the Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, these needless new infections and AIDS deaths could have been prevented if persons living with HIV (PLHIV) were diagnosed and adhered to treatment.
The Director-General revealed this at a durbar to commemorate the 2024 World AIDS Day celebration in Accra.
The global theme for this year’s celebration is “Take the Right Path” but the local theme for the event was “Ending AIDS Together: Stepping Up HIV Prevention Efforts.”
The day is celebrated annually to reflect on the impact HIV has had on the lives of millions of people around the world.
It also serves as an opportunity to assess progress made in managing and controlling the epidemic, acknowledge successes, identify bottlenecks and barriers to service delivery and rekindle commitment to ending AIDS by 2030.
Dr Atuahene said having a suitable number of PLHIV either not being diagnosed or receiving Antiretroviral treatment (ART) was costing the country in many ways less of the cost of relating to new infections and loss of lives due to AIDS-related causes.
The cost of PLHIV either not knowing their HIV status or receiving Antiretroviral treatment (ART) manifests in the loss of productivity as well, adding that the estimated average productivity lost to HIV-related ill-health was about five days per month.
“This loss to Ghana’s economy is better appreciated when we aggregate the average productivity lost to HIV-related illnesses with the estimated 183,000 people living with HIV and are not on ART.
“Indeed, it makes economic sense to know more than ever to invest in HIV, saying the business-as-usual attitude is not the best.
We must see HIV prevention, treatment and care services as an investment and work towards a country in which a healthy population is recognized as propellers for economic growth and sustainable development and everyone enjoys the health they deserve,” Dr Atuahene stated.
Ms Elsie Ayeh, the President of Nap+ Ghana, in remarks made on her behalf at the event, said ending AIDS required collective efforts and urged all to work together to strengthen the advocacy.
Let us have the conviction that ending AIDS is possible, she added.
Mr Hector Sucilla Perez, UNAIDS Country Director, said 1.3 million people worldwide acquired HIV, a figure three times higher than the global target of 370,000 new infections by 2025.
Despite advances in treatment, 9.3 million people living with HIV still lack access to life-saving ART, and continue to face barriers such as stigma, discrimination, and punitive laws, he stated.
Mr Perez said to change the course, there was a need to focus on protecting human rights for all, adding that ending AIDS required removing barriers that prevent people from accessing care, including harmful laws and practices while fostering inclusive community-led responses.
He called for the need to invest in girls’ education and link it to public health and human rights to all, which was a critical component of HIV prevention.
In attendance were the World Health Organization Country Representative, Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy, traditional leaders, and the Trade Union Congress Secretary General, among others.
The event also featured an exhibition, community engagement, distribution of HIV materials, condoms, medical screening, HIV testing, and BP screening, among others.
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