More than half of the people living with HIV/AIDS have not sought the life-saving antiretroviral therapy treatment, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has revealed.

In its 2024 national and sub-national HIV estimates and projections, the commission reports that 334,721 people living with HIV, accounting for 47 per cent of that population, are currently on antiretroviral therapy treatment, with 52.6 per cent without treatment.

The commission has described the situation as “alarming”, warning of its potential to derail national efforts to control the epidemic.

The current situation, it said, had left the lives of the entire population, including non-HIV patients, at risk.

The Ghana AIDS Commission made this known at a press briefing in Accra last Thursday, where government officials, health experts and development partners convened to assess the country’s HIV control efforts.

The Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the commission, Isaiah Doe Kwao, said the figures fell short of the global 95-95-95 targets set by the United Nations programme for HIV and AIDS, UNAIDS, for 95 per cent of people living with HIV to know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed to be on treatment and 95 per cent of those on treatment to achieve viral suppression.

Statistics

Breaking down the statistics, Mr Kwao explained that 15,290 new HIV infections were recorded in 2024 alone, and that although 12,614 AIDS-related deaths were recorded, an estimated 12,358 deaths were prevented due to access to treatment.

He said the data underscored the urgent need to expand access to antiretroviral therapy treatment.

Mr Kwao stated that women and children continued to bear a disproportionate burden, with 68.5 per cent (10,303) of new infections occurring in females and 5.4 per cent (1,243) occurring in children under 15.

He remarked that although Ghana boasts that 99.3 per cent of HIV-positive mothers now receive prevention of mother-to-child transmission, more needed to be done to ensure effective follow-up and treatment to reduce the figures.

He added, however, that the records for males were 4,987, while adults aged 15 and older recorded 11,289 out of the 15,290 new cases.

Stigma, other challenges

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, said issues such as misinformation, disinformation, stigma, discrimination, individual economic challenges, inadequate lifesaving services and recent funding cuts had contributed to derail progress.

“Regardless, we are determined to ensure sustained domestic financing, including the recent suspension of USAID’s international funding programme; integrate HIV priorities into broader health and development strategies, and adopt innovative, data-driven approaches to enhance service delivery.

No one should be left behind in our HIV response,” she emphasised. 

She also cautioned that every HIV-positive person who was not on treatment was one step closer to advanced illness and AIDS-related death, which she said was unacceptable. She stressed that, especially in present times, there should not be such a wide treatment gap.

As Ghana prepares to host the 2025 International Conference on AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Africa (ICASA), the Deputy Chief of Staff called on stakeholders, government institutions, health workers, donors, researchers, community advocates and civil society leaders to reflect deeply on the findings from these estimates and turn them into purposeful action.

Regional statistics

On the regional level, Greater Accra recorded 3,436 new infections, Ashanti Region, 2,997, Eastern Region, 2,019, Central Region, 1,140, Western Region, 1,120, Bono Region recorded 875, while Volta Region recorded 809 new infections.

Bono East recorded 649, Western North recorded 478, Ahafo Region recorded 350, Upper East Region recorded 345, Northern Region recorded 318, Upper West recorded 292, Oti Region recorded 222, Savannah Region recorded 143, while the North East Region recorded 97.