Dr Prosper Akanbong, the Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, has raised an alarm over the rising HIV cases among youths.
According to the AIDS Commission, HIV cases among youth aged 15 to 24 are on the rise.
The AIDS Commission noted that youths are now prioritising the prevention of pregnancy and forgetting about sexually transmitted infections.
He revealed that there has been an increase in the use of contraceptives over condoms.
Dr Prosper Akanbong stated, “We are seeing high infection rates among young and adolescent groups. The 15 to 24 age group is experiencing a progressively rising trend in HIV cases, and that is very worrisome”.
“They tend to think more about the fear of pregnancy rather than the fear of infections. So, you see the use of emergency contraceptives on the rise, but not enough condom use,” he lamented.
Also, the President of Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET), Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin, has made a shocking revelation.
According to him, 34,000 HIV cases have been recorded in Ghana within 9 months.
Speaking to the media in an interview, he detailed, “If you look at the data for the year 2023, the estimates are that new infections, that’s the people who are getting the virus for the very first time, were about 17,740. Those were new infections, but then this 34,000 actually refers to newly diagnosed”.
Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin asserted that the figure suggests individuals who may have been living with the virus for five to ten years but are being detected for the first time.
The President of Ghana HIV and AIDS Network further added, “We have a whole new crop of young people who are growing up and who have next to nothing knowledge about HIV/AIDS. So that lack of knowledge is contributing”.
“People are becoming complacent because individuals living with HIV are not displaying the symptoms that were common in the past, such as emaciation, weight loss, and skin rashes. This is due to the effectiveness of antiretroviral medications,” he added.
Meanwhile, the United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) has predicted a rise in cases of HIV globally following the American support for the biggest AIDS program’s drop.
Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, stated that if the United States were to withdraw its support for the world’s largest AIDS programme, the number of new HIV infections could increase by more than six times by 2029.
Byanyima emphasised that HIV infections had been declining in recent years, with 2023 seeing 1.3 million new cases.
However, she warned that this progress could be reversed without continued support, particularly from the United States, which has played a critical role in funding global AIDS initiatives.
