Dr Kharmacelle Prosper Akanbong, Acting Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), has called for a stronger collaboration between the Commission and stakeholders to ensure an effective response against HIV/AIDS infection in the Western Region.
He said the national data for 2023 showed that the Region had an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 1.82 per cent, above the national average of 1.53 per cent.
The data meant that Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Ghana Health Service, and other partners working in the HIV response chain must tighten collaboration in the implementation of programmes and activities to stem the spread of the virus in the Region.
Dr Akanbong made the call when he met key stakeholders working in HIV prevention, at Sekondi, to discuss ways to intensify efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus in the Western Region.
He said: “We are here to discuss and find points of collaboration where we can work together to complement each other’s efforts to see how we can get the statistics in the region a little bit admirable.”
He, however, acknowledged the challenges faced by the partners in the implementation of HIV response programmes and activities, including funding issues, and said the Commission would take appropriate mechanisms to ensure continuity of coordinated activities.
The GAC DG said: “The funding structure for most of you working in this region is in jeopardy because most of your programmes are funded by the USAID, which has been cut by the United States government.
“We must find a way around this issue, and at the national level, we are looking at how we can build a bigger HIV response, so we are developing a sustainability roadmap to help us get a uniform mechanism, including funding so that we can ensure an effective response framework.”
Dr Akanbong also spoke about the issue of stigmatisation and discrimination of persons living with HIV, and said such acts were major threats to the country’s objective of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
He called on the stakeholders and the citizenry to support efforts to curb the issue of stigma to help enhance efforts to end HIV infections.
Mr Joseph Nelson, the Western Regional Minister, said the alarming statistics from the Western Region regarding the prevalence rate of the HIV was a matter of concern.
He called on stakeholders to take the necessary steps to help bring the situation under control.
GNA
