55% of Ghanaians know about HIV status

Health News Thursday, July 18, 2019

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com

2019-07-18

New data from the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) indicates that 55.3% of the Ghanaian population knows their HIV status.

Of this percentage, 184,955 people living with the virus know their status, while 113,000 people living with HIV who know their status are receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Mr. Kyeremeh Atuahene, Acting Director General of the GAC, briefed journalists on national HIV estimates and projections in Accra for 2018, saying it was the first time the commission had calculated data on the country's goals. for 90-90-90.

"We are pleased to report that 55.3% of Ghanaians have been diagnosed and are aware of their status, with 61% receiving antiretroviral therapy and 61% receiving treatment, 66.4% % are deleted virally, "he said. disclosed.

He said this figure represents the country's position in the fight against HIV, adding, "We must do more to achieve the 90-90-90 goals."

Atuahene admitted that the country was unable to meet the 90-90-90 HIV / AIDS reduction targets, that 90 percent of the population knew their status, with 90 percent of HIV-positive people receiving antiretroviral therapy. and 90% of those receiving antiretroviral viral suppression.

"We accept that by the end of 2020, we may not have met the targets, but we have implemented the interventions and programs needed to reach the 90-90-90 targets shortly after 2020" , he added.

National prevalence

Presenting national figures, Atuahene said nearly 20,000 people in Ghana had been infected with HIV by 2018.

For the majority of new infections, 16,614 occurred between the ages of 15 and 49, accounting for 83% of the new infection.

Children under the age of 14 also recorded 3,317 new infections, or 17% of the total.

However, the data show a high incidence of new HIV infections among young women (4,382), compared with 1,175 for new infections among young men.

Mr Atuahene said 14,181 HIV-related deaths were recorded during the year under review.

Again, adult HIV deaths were highest at 11,412, with 2,769 HIV-related deaths among children.

"The estimated national prevalence of HIV between 15 and 49 years old is 1.69%," he said.

The total number of people living with HIV for all ages is 334,714. Of the number of people living with HIV, 350,200 are adults and 29,514 are children.