Ms Olivia Graham, Ashanti Regional Technical Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), has expressed worry over the increasing cases of HIV infection in the region.
Ashanti region currently has over 66,000 cases of HIV infections, with less than 50 percent of the infected persons undergoing the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) treatment, despite the availability of the treatment.
Ms Graham made this known to the Ghana News Agency during an interview on the sidelines of a free multiphasic health tests organised by the GAC to mark the World AIDS Day in the Ashanti Region.
The multiphasic health screening exercise held at the Kejetia market in Kumasi included an HIV test, blood sugar level test, Blood Pressure (BP) test, and Body Mass Index (BMI) check.
Free condoms and HIV Self-Test kits were distributed to those who checked their HIV status and those who wanted to run the tests at home.
The theme for the World AIDS Day celebration was, “Take the Right Path: Ending AIDS Together.”
Ms Graham said 3,650 new cases of HIV were recorded in 2023, indicating that about 10 people were getting infected with the virus every day in the region.
She said the main focus for the multiphasic screening was to get many people checked for HIV since most people shy away from getting tested.
“The HIV test does not indicate a positive or negative result but a reactive or non-reactive result that takes 15 minutes to be ready,” she noted.
Ms Graham said persons with reactive results were counselled and referred to a health centre where further HIV tests would be performed for the final HIV status results.
She noted that HIV was no longer a ‘death sentence’ because there was a treatment for it, and when taken consistently, would reduce the viral load in the body system.
Ms Graham encouraged all citizens to take the HIV test to know their status and get treated if the result was positive to help attain the 95 percent infected persons on treatment target.
This will also help prevent the wide spread of the virus in the region and the country at large.
Ms Princess Owusu-Ansah, a lady in her early 20s, said she was sexually active and wanted to get checked for HIV to know her status.
“This is my first time of checking my HIV status and I am not scared.
Again, it is important to always know that you are healthy, so I want to take advantage of the free screening,” she said.
GNA