Data from the Ghana AIDS Control Commission has revealed that in 2024 more than 1,000 new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections were detected in Western Region, Dr. Mrs. Felicia Amihere, the Western Regional HIV Coordinator, said.
According to her, 80% of HIV cases were acquired through sexual contact, 15% was from mother to child, and five per cent were from using sharp objects like needles.
In an interview with the media in Huni-Valley, Mrs. Amihere, advised the public to protect themselves from Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), since most of the infections they recorded were from sex.
She appealed to the public to practice the “A” (for abstinence), “B” (be faithful to one an infected partner) and “C” (correct consistent use of condoms) methods to stay safe, adding, if everyone abstained from sex for a year, they could reduce HIV by 80 %.
“Now sex comes in so many forms. People can download apps on their mobile phones and order for sex like they order for a ride. Others abuse emergency contraceptives, so they don’t use condoms, and all these would not let HIV infection reduce across the country,” Mrs. Amihere explained.
She indicated that HIV first came to Ghana in 1986, cases should have dropped by now, but the infection keeps escalating.
She stressed, “where money is involved, sexual activities increase. So, in Tarkwa Nsuaem and Prestea Huni-Valley Municipalities we have high cases. Even in the Wassa Amenfi Central, East, and West district and municipalities where HIV prevalence was low, now it’s rising because of the increased mining activities.”
Mrs. Amihere said, “HIV is real, it is not spiritual, people get it, but with the appropriate treatment, they manage it and stay healthy. If you test positive, stick to the treatment, and ignore those with drugs claiming it cures AIDS.”
“Currently, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS. Those who switch their treatment to those medications end up progressing to AIDS, and it gets too late, some even loss their lives,” she warned.
Source: GNA
