Accra: Health sector stakeholders have urged the government to activate the National HIV/AIDS Fund, established to aid the country’s fight against HIV/AIDS and achieve its goal of eliminating the disease by 2030. The Fund, created under the Ghana AIDS Commission Act of 2016 (Act 938) and Legislative Instrument (LI 2403), was designed to generate domestic resources for the national HIV/AIDS response, addressing the decline in donor funding for HIV/AIDS activities. Although the Fund was meant to be operationalized in 2017, it has yet to receive any financial allocation.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin, President of the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET), emphasized the importance of prioritizing the Fund during a health walk event held to raise awareness for World AIDS Day 2024. He noted the critical need for operationalizing the Fund due to rising HIV infection rates and decreasing donor support in recent years.
The Ghana AIDS Commission reported approximately 35,000 new HIV case
s recorded from January to September this year, with over 12,000 deaths attributed to the disease last year. Currently, more than 250,000 individuals are undergoing treatment. Mr. Ortsin described these statistics as alarming, stressing the urgent need for increased awareness efforts to reverse the trend.
Mr. Ortsin remarked, “This means that HIV is still very much around, and we need to create awareness. We need government to actually support. We have a national HIV/AIDS Fund, but as we speak now, there is zero money in the fund, and it is not good. All the work we are doing is supported by the Global Fund, but one day, the Global Fund will fold up, and then what happens?” He highlighted the importance of establishing the National HIV and AIDS Fund to ensure the availability of medications and prevention activities, with the aim of eliminating HIV/AIDS in Ghana by 2030.
World AIDS Day is observed annually on December 1 to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. This year’s theme for World AIDS Day is: ‘Take the Ri
ghts Path: End AIDS Now.’ Dr. Kyeremeh Attuahene, Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, expressed concern that the country may not meet the United Nations’ 95-95-95 target for AIDS by 2025. The UNAIDS 95-95-95 target aims for 95 per cent of people living with HIV to be diagnosed, 95 per cent of those diagnosed to receive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 95 per cent of those on ART to achieve viral suppression (VLS) by 2025.
Dr. Attuahene noted that currently, 65 per cent of people living with HIV in Ghana are aware of their status, 69 per cent of those diagnosed are on treatment, and 89 per cent have achieved viral suppression. He urged the government to allocate more finances to support the fight against the disease due to insufficient resources.
Dr. Stephen Ayisi Addo, Programme Manager of the National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NACP), acknowledged Ghana’s progress in combating HIV since the first case was reported in 1986. However, he stressed the need for more efforts to eliminate the epide
mic. He highlighted the importance of citizens adhering to essential protocols such as regular HIV testing, practicing abstinence, and using condoms to prevent further transmission of the virus. Dr. Ayisi Addo urged, “By 2030, we want to establish that HIV and AIDS is no more of a public health importance. So, know your status, get treatment, prevent HIV, stop stigma and discrimination, support somebody who is HIV positive and is on treatment and do not be a source of stigma.”