The Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET) has welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to addressing the funding shortfall caused by the recent USAID funding freeze.

In a statement responding to the President’s 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA), GHANET acknowledged his pledge to cover the financial gap, describing it as “both reassuring and therapeutic.”

The organisation noted that this was the third time in two weeks that President Mahama had reaffirmed his commitment to mitigating the impact of the USAID 90-day stop-work order, which has caused panic among persons living with HIV (PLHIV) in Ghana.

A major concern raised by GHANET is the potential shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) medications, especially if the government takes full responsibility for procurement.

“This fear is heightened by recent happenings where even donated ARVs were nonchalantly abandoned at the ports for several months,” the statement said.

As part of its recommendations, GHANET has urged the government to operationalise the National HIV and AIDS Fund (NHAF), which was initiated in 2016 under the previous Mahama administration but stalled after a change in government.

The organisation emphasised that the absence of the fund had significantly affected HIV awareness campaigns, leading to a new generation with little knowledge of the disease. “It therefore did not come as a surprise when the country recorded 17,700 new infections and 12,500 AIDS-related deaths in 2023 alone,” GHANET noted.

The group also called for local production of ART medications and HIV-related commodities, citing Ghana’s existing capacity for ARV manufacturing since 2005.

GHANET believes this could not only meet local demand but also serve neighbouring West African countries with high PLHIV populations.

GHANET appealed to the Ministers for Finance and Health to ensure that President Mahama’s commitment is reflected in the 2025 budget.

The group urged the government to fulfil the Abuja Declaration’s requirement for African nations to allocate at least 15% of their national budgets to health.