Just like in any other country, HIV/AIDs is present in Ghana.

Of about 193 countries in the

world, only Africa accounts for more than 75 – 80% of all HIV/AIDs cases globally, of which
Ghana is not an exception. As of 2014, an estimated number of 150,000 people were infected
with the virus. The rate of rising of HIV/AIDs cases was at 1.37 percent in 2014 and was highest
in the Eastern Region of Ghana and lowest in the northern region of the country. From the 2018
national estimates, the estimated adult national HIV prevalence is 1.69%. According to the AIDS
commission, Ashanti Region has the HIV population among all the 16 administrative regions in
the country. He noted that 73,245 people are living with HIV in Ashanti Region currently.
Despite the measures put in place by the country’s health sector, HIV/AIDs is still on the rise in
Ghana. Considering factors that influence the rise of HIV prevalence in Ghana, poverty,
heterosexual sex, Issues of HIV testing as well as people getting in contact with contaminated
blood are four of the main reasons why there is a rise in new HIV cases in Ghana.

Poverty adversely plays a role in the rise of new HIV cases in Ghana on the part of both men and
women. Most people living in extreme poverty in Ghana are more susceptible to contracting the
HIV virus than people who are not living in poverty. Many men in Ghana earn less than they
spend and as result, live in extreme poverty. Poverty is linked with negative conditions such
as substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition, food insecurity, inadequate child
care, lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and under-resourced schools which
adversely affect the prevalence of HIV in Ghana. For instance, on the part of males, the scarce
money is usually not enough to buy condoms in order to be protected from the infection, let
alone for an HIV test when they get new partners to have sexual intercourse with them. Also,
most men do not have money to treat already existing sexually Transmitted Infections which can
cause genital sores around their reproductive tract and make them prone to have HIV when they
engage in unprotected sex with an infected person. On the part of females, vulnerable women
such as widows might depend on some men for food, clothes, shelter, or other important physical
needs. Based on their dependency on these men, they are powerless to negotiate for safe sex.
Such women, for instance, may not be in the pole position to ask their male partners to use
condoms as means of protecting themselves against the infection. These women are constantly
infected, especially when there is a cut in the course of having intercourse with an infected
person. Therefore, the role that poverty plays in contributing to the rise in HIV infections in the
country cannot be downplayed.
Another reason why there is a rise in new cases of HIV, despite all preventive measures put in
place is the Problem of HIV testing. Many Ghanaians, both males, and females do not avail
themselves for HIV testing, especially when they have new partners. Some religious bodies,
discourage HIV testing, due to the perception they have about HIV as the devil’s punishment for
wrongdoers or as a punishment for people who live an indecent lifestyle. In view of this, many
people fail to go the HIV testing even if they change their sexual partners without knowing the
status of their new partner. In many instances, HIV has massively been seen as a sex disease. A
member of a church who goes for HIV testing might be suspected of committing adultery and
this attitude of ignorance has discouraged many people from going for the test. This results in
many people contracting the virus when they have sexual intercourse with an infected person
without protection. Also, an infected mother, who refuses to test for her HIV status is likely to
pass the virus to her child through mother-to-child transmission during childbirth. For example, a
man who intends to marry a woman might not both check their HIV status as a result of the trust
they have for themselves even though one can be infected. After years of marriage when the viral
load of the infected person is very high, the other partner might already be infected with the virus
since there may be cuts during this seroconversion period. The couples may also have
transmitted the virus to their children since no caution may be taken during pregnancy and
childbirth. The mother, the father, and as many children as they might give birth to may have the
Virus which will contribute to the high number of new HIV cases in Ghana.

Furthermore, one of the main contributing factors to Ghana’s rise in new HIV cases is the
abandonment of the key population. These people include men who have sex with men, people
who inject drugs, people in prisons and other closed settings, sex workers, and transgender
people. These people are often discriminated and as result, they try to hide their identity in order
to avoid stigmatization from society. The inability of intravenous drug users to get new syringes
results in the sharing of syringes which can lead to the transmission of the virus from one
infected person to the other or to a group of people. For example, since society frowns on
prostitution which is unacceptable in Ghana, sex workers who contract STIs are not given the
necessary attention at the health facilities. Also, since most of these sex workers and
homosexuals do not have money to cater to their health needs, and also get no intervention from
the government concerning their health, some of the people leave some infections untreated
which can lead to genital ulcers. The virus is then passed on from the key population to the
general population since most people from the general population patronize the services of these
sex workers. Again, People from the key population may involve themselves in the affairs of the
general population such as marrying, so as to avoid discrimination and stigmatization, thereby
spreading the virus.

|Finally, one of the main contributing factors which add more number to the new cases of HIV is
exposure to contaminated blood products. Due to the use of outmoded methods of testing blood
before transfusion, many peoples get infected as a result of getting infected blood samples
transfused into them. The HIV virus can only be detected during the seroconversion period by a
molecular test which is uncommon in Ghana. A person might test negative when there is the
need for emergency testing, especially when the person is in the seroconversion period or the
viral load is very low. For example, a person who gets a blood transfusion from a hospital and
gets infected may be ignorant of his or her status since the blood to be transfused tested negative.
These people, when they are married might pass on the virus to their partners and even their
children which will increase the number of new cases in the country. Furthermore, reusable tools
in the hospital also contribute to adding more numbers to the HIV cases in Ghana when these
tools are exposed to infected blood and are not well sterilized. In an instance where abortion
tools are not well sterilized after being used on an infected person, the virus can be transmitted to
all subsequent patients on whom these tools are used , thereby increasing the number of new
cases.

Many measures have been put in place to control the spread of HIV in Ghana, but the number
and rate of infection keep increasing day after day. It is important to note that, HIV is not only a
sexual disease but can be transmitted through various means such as through blood transfusion,
exposure to infected tools as well as ignorance of the status of one’s sexual partner. In order to
get to the point of expectation of getting the spread of HIV under control, it will be important for
the government of Ghana to attend to the need of the key population. Modern methods of testing
for blood samples should also be adopted in order to avoid infecting people with the blood of
infected people
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World Health Organization. HIV/AIDS. Nov 2017 [internet publication].

 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for
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King, K.M., et al., Co-occurrence of Sexual Risk Behaviors and Substance Use Across Emerging
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Rahmanian, S., et al., Cigarette smoking in the HIV-infected population. Proc Am Thorac Soc,

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