The Ghana AIDS Commission has revealed that close to 29,000 children are living with HIV in the country.

Within the first half of 2022, a total of 23,495 people in Ghana tested positive for HIV out of 948,094 who participated in the test.

In 2021, the Commission recorded a total of 346,120 Ghanaians living with HIV. Out of the total number, 28,710 (8.3%) are children between the ages of 0-14.

Speaking to KMJ on Prime Morning, the Director General of the AIDS Commission, Dr. Kyeremeh Atuahene, indicated that the children are infants who were infected through delivery.

He also revealed that about 3,683 new cases, excluding the 28,710 children born with the disease, were recorded before the end of 2021.

"At the end of 2021, the HIV population in Ghana was estimated at 346,120. Now, out of this number, 28,710 and most of these children got infected through their mothers. So, if you consider the proportion, it clearly shows that about 8.3% of the HIV population is children living with HIV within the 0 to 14 years," he stated.

Regardless of the hikes in numbers, the Director General also attested to the fact that there has been a decline in some new infections. He stated that the number of new infections among children aged 0 to 14 decreased by 31% between 2017 and 2021.

Meanwhile, infected pregnant women, according to Dr. Atuahene, are usually diagnosed and granted antiretroviral treatment throughout their maternity period.

This, he said, would reduce the quantity of the virus within the immune system of the mother to ensure that the babies are protected.

Unlike other international countries where HIV-positive mothers are separated from their babies immediately after delivery, the infected mothers in Ghana are allowed to sleep with their children due to inadequate facilities. This increases the child's infection risk.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided guidelines for breastfeeding mothers living with HIV on how to care for and protect their babies from the virus, according to the Director General.

However, people, especially pregnant women, are encouraged to get tested and follow the antiretroviral treatment as HIV is no longer "a death sentence."