Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Steve Kyeremeh Atuahene, has underscored the heightened vulnerability of females to HIV infections compared to males, based on recent data.
The 2023 statistics on new HIV cases indicate a higher incidence among females than males. Speaking in an interview with Joy News on Friday, June 21, Dr. Atuahene elaborated on the biological factors contributing to this gender disparity.
“When a female has sex with a man, penile sex and the man ejaculates, the sperm which might contain HIV particles may remain in her for quite some time, whereas that of the male you hardly can see that. Secondly, the surface area of the vagina is much wider than that of the male and thirdly the mucus membrane of the vagina is much more fragile than of the male”.
Dr. Atuahene highlighted the protective role of male circumcision in Ghana, which significantly reduces HIV transmission rates. He emphasized the importance of awareness among women about their heightened vulnerability and the necessity to prioritize protection.
“Women must be aware that they are more vulnerable and therefore they should protect themselves,” he emphasised.
“That basic understanding should be common among Ghanaians and all people of the world,” he said.
Regarding transmission rates, Dr. Atuahene noted “the transmission rate from woman to man is just about 2% whereas it is more than 12 % for a man, and that is why women should not gamble with their health and their life by just accepting that, if he will give them more money to have sex without a condom it’s okay for me. It shouldn’t be okay for you, especially when you might have the untreated sexually transmitted disease, that can also heighten the chance of you getting HIV,”he added.
Dr. Atuahene also highlighted specialized programs tailored for high-risk groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and those who inject drugs.
Despite financial challenges, these programs provide essential services including condom distribution, testing, and linkage to healthcare facilities for diagnosis and treatment.
“Without that, we should be seeing much higher new infections in the country every year, but for that group no matter our financial challenges we give them special attention; sex workers, men who have sex with men, now we are adding those who inject drugs and high-risk men, so there is a special programme design for them, we provide condoms, we test them, we link them to healthcare facilities for them to receive further diagnosis and treatment.”