Ten people were estimated to have been infected by HIV daily in the Ashanti Region in 2023, according to the Ghana AIDS Commission’s (GAC) 2023 HIV estimates and projections.
The region, which had HIV population of 66,322, recorded 3,650 new infections, out of which 1,136 were males and 2,161 being females.
Of the 66,322 HIV population, 20,695 were males as against 42,038 females with a prevalence rate of 1.70 per cent.
Madam Olivia Graham, Ashanti Regional Technical Coordinator, Ghana AIDS Commission, who disclosed these during a Regional GAC Committee meeting, said 353 children between the ages of 0-14 were also infected during the year under review.
She further revealed that 27,308 people, representing 41.2 per cent, were on Antiretroviral Treatment (ART).
“We realised that the youth between the ages of 15-24 were most infected and if you look at estimates about 27.4 per cent of the new infections were amongst the youth,” Madam Graham noted.
She attributed the increasing cases amongst young people to unprotected sex, arguing that HIV infections were mostly through unprotected sex.
According to her, most of the cases were recorded in the urban and mining areas where a lot of people converge for businesses and other activities.
“One thing that drives our epidemic in the Region is the long-distance truck drivers passing through the Region,” she pointed out.
Responding to why women are mostly infected, she said it was because more women were testing because of their health-seeking behavior.
“If we look at the health-seeking behaviors in our population, we see that women usually would go looking for health services.
Also, when a woman is pregnant, they go to the antenatal where they are tested,” she explained.
She underlined the need to sustain efforts at eliminating HIV and AIDS through increased awareness, testing and access to treatment to ensure the country achieves epidemic control.
GNA