Director-General of Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene has advised the youth to stop offering themselves to sugar daddies and mummies.

His admonition comes after HIV figures in Ghana shot up to over 17,000 new infections in 2021.

According to him, Ghana has a target to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, and the Commission believes the target could be met earlier than planned if young men and women who now see sex as business, stop the practice.

He made this known on Joy FM's Super Morning Show.

“Some young people see sex as a means of making income. We have hookups, which entail young men and women offering themselves as sexual providers to sugar mummies and daddies. All these expose them to HIV/Aids,” he said.

He continued that the risk of contracting HIV is lower than Covid-19 and TB, since one cannot get it through social contact or the environment, but through deliberate actions taken by the person.

“Nobody can force the pathogen into your body. You decide to have sex and it does not come out of the blue.”

Speaking on the negative implications of HIV/Aids, Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene added that the majority of people with the infection are between the ages of 25-45 which is the economically active population.

This means there will be low production, which will affect the national income of the country if people fall sick and cannot work.

Dr Atuahene further advised the youth to abstain from sexual activities and use condoms if need be.

He stated that there is treatment for anyone who has already contracted the disease.

"Anyone who has the disease can visit the nearest hospital for effective treatment," he said.

A total of 23, 495 people in Ghana tested positive for HIV in the first half of this year (January to June).

The figure is two percent of the 948, 094 people who undertook HIV testing from January to June 2022.