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Worldwide, HIV is thought to originate in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, around 1920, when HIV crossed chimpanzee species with humans. Until the 1980s, it was not known how many people had been infected with HIV or had AIDS. HIV was unknown and the transmission was not accompanied by obvious signs or symptoms.
Although sporadic cases of AIDS were documented before 1970, Avert reported that, according to the available data, the current epidemic began between the mid-to-late 1970s. In 1980, it is possible that HIV was already spread over five continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia). During this period, between 100,000 and 300,000 people could have been infected.
HIV is a virus that targets and impairs the immune system, increasing the risk and impact of other infections and diseases. Without treatment, the infection could progress to an advanced stage of the disease called AIDS.
However, Medical News Today explained that "modern advances in treatment imply that people living with HIV in countries with good access to health care very rarely develop AIDS once they are treated.
The life expectancy of a person carrying the HIV virus is now approaching that of a person whose HIV test is negative, as long as she adheres to a combination of drugs. called antiretroviral therapy (ART).
A study conducted by Kaiser Permanente in 2016 suggested that between 1996 and 2016, the gap in life expectancy between HIV-positive people and HIV-negative people was bridged from 44 to 12 years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also said that a person living with HIV could regain a high quality of life through treatment, and that 20.9 million people worldwide were following a antiretroviral treatment by mid-2017.
In March 1986, the first case of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was reported in Ghana. In January 1991, a more detailed report on AIDS in Ghana appeared in which 107 positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases were reported in 1987.
By the end of March 1988, 333 people had been identified as seropositive, and by the end of April 1990, 2,454 people had been identified. have contracted AIDS.
According to WHO annual reports, the disease has continued to spread in the country. In 1991, Komfo Anokye University Hospital reported about 50 AIDS cases per month.
Since then, Ghana has made great strides in meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) 90-90-90 goals of ensuring that all people living with HIV are screened their status, receive treatment, and all people on ART. achieved viral suppression.
To the extent that the country has made greater efforts to reach the target set for 2020, much remains to be done.
With this in mind, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has called for a concerted effort to mobilize stakeholders to reduce stigma, antiretroviral (ART) and communication for HIV. behavior change.
In a media presentation on national HIV estimates and projections for 2018 in Accra on Wednesday, July 17, 2019, the Ag. The Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), Mr. Kyeremeh Atuahene, said that about 335,000 Ghanaians were living with HIV, of whom only 185,000 knew their status and the remaining 150,000 unknowingly. which means that they could easily infect other people. However, only 113,000 were put on antiretrovirals.
By breaking it down further, he said of the total number of people living with HIV (PLWHA), 305,200 were adults aged 15 and over, or 91%, while 29,514 were children aged zero to 15 years, which is also 9%. And then 117,199 were men, representing 35% and 217,515 women, accounting for 65%.
An additional 19,931 people are newly infected with HIV, of whom 16,614 representing 83% were adults aged 15 and over, while 3,317 representing 17% were children aged zero to 14 years.
5,532 young people between the ages of 15 and 24, representing 28% of all men, 1,175 people, or 22% and 4,382 women, also representing 78.9%.
Again, Atuahene said that about 14,181 AIDS-related deaths were accounted for, of which 11,412 representing 80% of adults aged 15 and over and the remaining 2,769, or 20%, of Children aged 0 to 14 years old. .
According to Atuahene, various sources were used to generate spectrum data, which reduced the overall national HIV prevalence among adults to about 1.7%, compared with 2.0% in 2014 in the US. Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS).
He also highlighted the fact that the commission will make more efforts to advocate for the care of HIV and AIDS orphans, as Ghana has the policies, programs and human resources to provide services needed to combat HIV / AIDS. disease.
For his part, Isaiah Doe Kwao, head of data quality badurance at the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), reported an estimated 16,421 pregnant women in need of prevention of HIV transmission. mother-child (PMTCT). while only 12,950 of them were able to receive antiretroviral therapy to protect their baby from infection. And there were also 3,317 new childhood infections due to MTCT.
He also noted that this was the first time that Ghana has produced sub-national estimates with estimated HIV prevalence rates in the regions and districts, where the Greater Accra region reached about 77 132, followed by the Ashanti region with 75,675 and east with 41,089, in that order with PLWHA.
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