A report from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that more than 70% of both males and females aged 15 to 49, who are aware of HIV, hold discriminatory attitudes towards those living with the virus.
These attitudes include beliefs such as HIV-positive children should not attend school with HIV-negative children, or that they would avoid buying fresh vegetables from a shopkeeper living with HIV.
The GSS released these findings on International Zero Discrimination Day, observed on 1st March 2024 under the theme “Save lives: Decriminalise”.
The report also highlighted that nationally, nearly eight in every 10 females (78.4%) and seven in every 10 males (72.1%) aged 15 to 49, who are aware of HIV, exhibit discriminatory attitudes towards those living with the virus.
“Nationally, almost eight in every 10 (78.4%) females and seven in every 10 (72.1%) males aged 15-49 who have heard about HIV have discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV. The percentage with discriminatory attitudes is higher in rural areas (85.5% for females and 78.1% for males) compared to urban (73.4% for females and 67.3% of males).”
The report also indicated that the prevalence of discriminatory attitudes is higher in rural areas, with 85.5% of females and 78.1% of males aged 15 to 49 exhibiting such attitudes, compared to urban areas where 73.4% of females and 67.3% of males hold discriminatory views towards those living with HIV.
“The percentage with discriminatory attitudes is higher in rural areas (85.5% for females and 78.1% for males) compared to urban (73.4% for females and 67.3% of males).”
According to the GSS report, the Ahafo region has the highest percentage of individuals who discriminate against people living with HIV, at 87%. This is followed by the Savannah region at 86.8%, and the Oti region at 86.4%.
“Among females aged 15 to 49 in eight regions – Ahafo (87.0%), Savannah (86.8%), Oti (86.4), North East (85.9%), Northern (85.7%), Upper West (83.8%), Western North (84.4%) and Upper East (80.1%) – over four in five have discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV.
“In comparison, three regions – North East (85.2%), Northern (83.1%) and Oti (81.5%) – have more than four in five males aged 15-49 with discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV,” GSS’s stated in its report.
The report highlighted that individuals with higher levels of education are less likely to exhibit discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV compared to those with no education.
“The percentage of individuals with discriminatory attitudes who have no education is more than twice that of individuals with secondary education or more. Among females aged 15-49, discriminatory attitudes range from 91.5% for those with no education, decreasing through primary (89.3%), and secondary (78.9%) to more than secondary (44.8%).
“Among males aged 15-49 with no education, 90.0% exhibit discriminatory attitudes, compared to 86.8% for those with primary education, 73.6% for secondary education, and 43.4% among those with secondary or more education.”