COVID-19 has reversed gains made in HIV fight - Akufo-Addo

Women contribute a chunk of HIV/AIDS percentage in Ghana

Ending HIV is a key SDG aspiration according to Nana Addo

Educate the girl-child to prevent HIV spread, President

The president of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo has said that the COVID-19 pandemic is undoing all the gains made in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the last four decades.

He made this comment in a video that was played at a durbar held at the forecourt of the Ghana International Trade Fair to mark ‘World AIDS Day’.

The 2021 ‘World AIDS Day’ was themed ‘End Inequalities, End AIDS, End Pandemics’ President Akufo-Addo bemoaned the negative effects of the Coronavirus on the health sector, specifically the testing and treatment services in Ghana with regards to HIV/AIDS.

He said the virus does not consider the current state of the economy. “Covid 19 disrupted HIV testing, prevention and treatment services in Ghana,” he added.

Akufo - Addo, however, noted that the theme for this year’s World AIDS day is a key aspiration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Gender inequalities, stigma and discrimination associated with population and higher risk of HIV prevents people from accessing prevention and treatment services. Gender inequality is a major reason for the disproportional disease burden on women and girls. Two out of three Ghanaians living with HIV are women. While 4 out of 5 new infections in young people aged 15 to 24 years are adolescent girls and young women,” he lamented.

He, however, noted that it is extremely troubling that adolescent girls and young women make up 28 percent of total new HIV cases.

He, therefore, called for a renewed effort to eliminate inequality, harmful practices like widowhood rites and child marriages among others and instead promote girl-child education to reduce the increasing figures He used the avenue to duly launch the National HIV/AIDS strategic plan 2021-2025. A plan meant to curb the further spread of HIV/AIDS.