Health

World AIDS Day: 47, 866 Ghanaians contracted HIV in 2020

Data from the Ghana AIDS Commission shows that one out of every 100 people in Ghana is HIV positive

Ghana recorded 47,866 new cases of HIV infections in 2020, the New Juaben South HIV/AIDS focal person, Sandra Audrey has said.

Speaking in an interview with Asaase News during a community engagement to mark World AIDS Day, Audrey said the Eastern Region recorded the highest infection rate in the country.

She said, one out of every 100 people in Ghana is HIV positive and two out of 100 people in the Eastern Region are positive

Audrey added that three out of 100 persons in Koforidua the regional capital are HIV positive.

“If you sample 100 people you will get at least three people with the virus in the Eastern region and Koforidua if you take 100 people you will also get at least three people with HIV,’’ she noted.

Audrey added that in just a half lifetime, modern science has turned HIV one of the most fearsome diseases in human history, into a treatable, preventable condition.
She advised Ghanaians to take care of themselves, use a condom and be faithful to their partner.

“We don’t want to target few people; anybody can get AIDS. Checking your status is free, after checking and we realize you have the virus, we will counsel you and put you on drugs,’’ she added.

World AIDS Day, acknowledged on 1 December every year since 1988 is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.

As the world celebrates World AIDS Day today (1 December), the Eastern Region currently has an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 2.2% as compared to the national rate of 1.7% at the end of the year.

The theme for this year is “End inequalities. End AIDS. End pandemics.”

Winifred Lartey

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