Over a thousand people are currently living with HIV/AIDS in the Dormaa West District, according to Ebenezer Bennie, the AIDS Coordinator for the district.
According to him, the affected persons include children and pregnant women who are on anti-retroviral drugs.
In a conversation with Nsoromma FM, Ebenezer Bennie also revealed that more than 200 of the over 700 people who voluntarily underwent testing in the first half of the year were found to be HIV/AIDS positive.
He urged the general public to participate in voluntary testing so they could learn their status and properly plan their lives.
Recently, Dr. Kyeremeh Atuahene, Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, revealed that 354,927 people in the nation are HIV positive overall.
He stated that there are 115,235 men and 239,692 women among the total.
Speaking at the 2022 National and Sub-National HIV Estimates and Projections, Dr. Atuahene added that Greater Accra was the region with the highest number of HIV estimates (85, 403), followed by Ashanti Region (72, 429), and Eastern Region (46, 339).
He stated that 9,359 people had died from AIDS, with 4,353 male and 5,006 female.
According to Dr. Atuahene, the nation saw 16,574 new HIV infections, with 5,647 male cases and 10,927 female cases.
He stated that there were 2,868 children under the age of 14 and 13,706 adults aged 15 and over.
He said the HIV epidemic remained a challenge, with certain regions and vulnerable populations disproportionately affected, adding “It is essential that we confront these disparities head-on and ensure that our response inclusive and reaches those most in need.”
According to Dr. Atuahene, data on HIV estimates and projections were produced using an upgraded version of the software that could calculate progress towards the “95-95-95” targets and provide the specific strategic data needed to enhance geographic planning and target setting for the creation of national HIV strategic plans.
The ‘95-95-95’ seeks to diagnose 95 per cent of all HIV-positive individuals, provide antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 95 per cent of those diagnosed and achieve viral suppression for 95 per cent of those treated by 2030.
Dr. Atuahene expressed concern about how susceptible women are to the illness and gave advice on how they can fend it off.
“I would like to stress that the numbers clearly show the vulnerability of women and for that reason women must take the necessary prevention actions that would ensure that they do not have HIV,” he added.
He advised men to help women protect themselves by encouraging them to use condoms for every sex had outside of marriage or other committed relationships, regardless of how stable or unstable they may be.
The UNAIDS Country Director for Ghana stated that his organisation would keep giving countries technical assistance in order to produce estimates for the number of new infections, HIV-positive individuals, and AIDS-related deaths, among other variables.
For him, these projections were the outcome of a collaborative process that included participation from national authorities, partners, and other country stakeholders in order to provide a scientifically appropriate way to describe HIV epidemic levels and trends in countries (including sub-national level), the various regions, and at a global level.
According to him, HIV estimates were used as the basis for the creation of national HIV policies, plans, strategies, and programmes that bring different stakeholders together in support of a set of predetermined objectives.