Ghana AIDS Commission says reports about sharp rise in HIV infections unfounded

The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has profusely denied media reports that there is a sharp rise in HIV infections in the country.      

It said the percentage increase of between 70.15 and 80 put out by the media, which had triggered a wave of public anxiety and confusion was incorrect and should be ignored.     

The Commission indicated that its 2017 Report was yet to be released and wondered where the figures were coming from, especially when it did not provide any statistics on the disease at the briefing it held for journalists on January 10.      

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the acting Director-General, Dr. Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi.       

The Commission also expressed discomfort with what it said was an error in a report attributed to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Country Director, Ms. Angela Trenton-Mbonde, on some social media platforms.        

She was wrongly reported to have said that Ghana recorded 80 per cent increase in the disease infections in year 2016.        

The statement said Ms. Trenton-Mbonde actually talked about 18 per cent and not 80 per cent as quoted.         

The Commission added that it recognized that an 18 per cent rise in infections was relatively high for a low HIV prevalent country like Ghana.         

It said stopping the spread of the infection had been made a priority on the nation’s development agenda, citing the setting up a Fund to ensure sustainable domestic funding for the HIV/AIDS response.

The Commission advised the people not to panic but to take responsibility for their self-protection and to make sure that they led healthy lifestyles.

Source: GNA