Mr Osei-Bonsu Gyamfi, the Upper West Regional Technical Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), has expressed worry about the refusal of Municipal and District Assemblies in the region to release funds for implementation of HIV -related interventions.
He said apart from not setting funds aside for the Commission, the Assemblies also found it difficult to release the meagre 0.5 per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) allocated to the HIV interventions, which he said was negatively affecting the work of HIV Focal Persons at the Assembly level.
Mr Gyamfi raised the concern during the meeting of the Regional Committee of the Ghana Aids Commission (RECCOM).
As part of the meeting, Civil Society Organisations implementing HIV-related interventions presented their activities in the region while the GAC updated the committee and stakeholders on the HIV/AIDS status of the region.
“Even when the Common Fund release comes the Assemblies find it difficult to release that small amount for activities such as HIV testing and education.
You go to the districts and there are funds, but the funds are sitting at the assembly, and they would be using it for different purposes, that is not the best,” Mr Gyamfi lamented.
He, therefore, appealed to the Assemblies to release funds earmarked for HIV-related activities to enable the HIV Focal Persons at the Assemblies work.
Mr Joseph Abugre Atogyine, a Deputy Director at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), observed that donor funding for HIV-related interventions in Ghana was dwindling and emphasised the need for the government to take up the responsibility of funding HIV activities.
“We must take the (HIV) fight into our own hands. The destiny is in our own hands,” he said and added that the RCC and its stakeholders would not rest on their oars in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Mr Atogyine advised members of the public against stigmatising persons living with HIV and urged them, especially service providers, to show people living with HIV love and compassion.
Mr Simon-Peter Ansogletuo, the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator, Upper West Regional Education Directorate, said due to the non-release of funds earmarked for HIV interventions, HIV programmes in schools had stopped.
He said that was affecting access to HIV prevention education and services by school children and could thwart the efforts of the government in winning the fight against HIV.
Madam Judith Naaza, the Upper West regional Chairperson of the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET), said her outfit was implementing the HIV self-test campaign in the region.
She said the campaign would enable people who shied away from testing in health facilities and other public places to do self-tests in their comfort zones.
He added that the people were educated on self-testing and encouraged to report the results to the Network.
Madam Naaza said those who reacted to the virus were assisted in doing confirmation tests and put on medication if they tested positive for the disease.
Available data from the GAC indicates that new HIV infections in the region were 368 in 2022 against 300 recorded in 2023.
Representatives of the Hope For Future Generations, Ghana Network of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (NAP+), Capacity Enhancement and Community Support (CAPECS) and the Ghana Health Service among others attended the meeting.
GNA