The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has described the persistently low condom use among young people, particularly adolescent girls and young women, as a major setback in efforts to curb new HIV infections in the Volta Region.
Speaking at the inauguration of the reconstituted Regional Committee of the GAC in Ho last Monday, Volta Regional Technical Coordinator Mary Naa Asheley Anyomi revealed that the region currently has 19,078 people living with HIV (PLHIV), accounting for 5.7 per cent of the national total of 334,721.
This includes 4,999 adult males, 12,881 adult females, and 1,198 children. The regional HIV prevalence rate stands at 2.1 per cent, rising to 4.3 per cent among female sex workers and 28.1 per cent among men who have sex with men.
Mrs Anyomi further disclosed 809 new HIV cases recorded in the region, comprising 221 adult males, 519 adult females, and 69 children. Anti-retroviral therapy coverage across the 18 districts ranges from 38.4 per cent to 61.5 per cent.
She noted that HIV intervention programmes in the region remain entirely donor-funded and limited in reach, while stigma and discrimination continue to deter testing, treatment adherence, and disclosure.
To address these challenges, Mrs Anyomi called for expanded HIV testing services, community-based testing in remote areas, increased promotion of condom use, and improved accessibility of condoms throughout the region.
The nine-member committee, chaired by Volta Regional Minister James Gunu, received pledges of full support from the Volta Regional Coordinating Council to help end AIDS by 2030. Mr Gunu urged members to work diligently to establish active district-level committees and ensure stakeholder collaboration.
Other committee members were drawn from the Ghana Health Service, Network of Associations of Persons Living with HIV, civil society organisations, Ghana Education Service, the Volta Region House of Chiefs, and the GAC.
