The Ada East District HIV Coordinator, Mr Adator Anani Junior, says 256 HIV cases have been recorded in the Ada East District in 2021.

The data show that 73 cases were recorded among males and 183 among females.

He said 61 cases were recorded among pregnant women, adding that 22 were known HIV clients before their current pregnancies and 39 were newly diagnosed with HIV in their current pregnancies.

Mr Anani in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Ada said the prevalence rate for 2021 was 2 percent based on Ghana AIDS Commission’s estimation.

He said the disease was predominant among females between the ages of 35 to 39 and males between 45 to 49.

The District HIV Coordinator said at least 60 percent of positive patients were on treatment with 70 percent of those on the treatment being regular.

He said the national expectation was that at least 95 percent of HIV-positive patients would be on treatment.

He said these targets were geared towards achieving an AIDS-free country by 2030, saying that the current development in Ada East demanded concerted efforts of all interested parties, including youth groups to achieve an AIDS-free Ada Community.

He said unprotected sexual intercourse remained the main route for HIV new infection, multiple partner relationships and low uptake of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) were also contributing to new HIV infections in the district.

He advised the patients to comply with the strategies for reducing HIV new infection, including the use of condoms when partners did not know each other current HIV status.

Mr Anani Jnr called on the adolescents, especially those between 13 to 19 years, to do everything possible to delay sex and redirect their youthful energies into productive areas of their life.

Meanwhile, Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo, Manager, National AIDS/STI Control Programme, said there was a surge in cases of HIV among pregnant women in the country, attributing it to the increased confidence in fertility among persons living with HIV.

Dr. Ayisi Addo, speaking at the Stakeholder Seminar organised by the Ghana News Agency, explained that data analysis in a Sentinel Survey conducted in 2020 revealed that women who had been pregnant more than once had a higher prevalence compared to first pregnancies partly because of their confidence that they could have healthy babies.

The study, he noted, further showed that prevalence among general Antenatal Care (ANC) clients was two percent and among those with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) such chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, among others was 10 percent in 2020.

Data from the HIV Estimates and AIDS Projections report also revealed that 5,200 new infections of HIV were recorded in children aged 0-14.

Since the first case of HIV in 1986, there were currently 346,120 people leaving with HIV as of the end of 2020 with 66 percent of the figure being females and about eight percent children; aged 0-14.

He said, hitherto, persons who tested positive and became pregnant, assumed that their babies would become automatically positive often leading to the abandonment of the babies.

The GNA Stakeholder Engagement is a platform for state and non-state actors to address national issues.