Most youth fear pregnancy more than HIV/AIDS – GHS

Anani Adator, the HIV/AIDS Coordinator for the Ada East District, has disclosed that most Ghanaian youth fear and prevent pregnancy more than HIV/AIDS.

Mr Adator, speaking with the Ghana News Agency in an interview, noted that contraceptives often run out at pharmacies and health facilities, while condoms stay on the shelves and expire without being purchased.

He based his statement on data from the 2023 national and sub-national HIV/AIDS estimates. 

According to the Ghana AIDS Commission, 17,774 people, comprising 6,457 males and 11,317 females, became newly infected with HIV in 2023, indicating that the HIV population increased by nine per cent between 2013 and 2023, which is projected to increase by 6.8 per cent by 2030.

Additionally, the data also revealed that 12,480 Ghanaians died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2023.

Mr. Adator stated that “the regional data is not looking too good. It’s very scary because when you juxtapose the national figures, especially in Ada, from the ages between 10 and 19 years, people who are affected by the deadly disease are about 11 per cent, while the national rate is just five per cent, and that’s why I said the regional data is scary.”

He revealed that even though the report captured 1,151 people living with HIV/AIDS in Ada, the reality on the ground might be around 1,800 affected people, as some who did not report to the health facilities might not have been captured by the statistics.

He added that sometimes health officials must chase victims and compel them to go for their medications.

“Some even give us the wrong contacts so that we can’t reach out to them, and so they end up spreading the virus to others. I’m scared that if care is not taken, it will get to a point where in every family, there will be people testing positive for HIV and AIDS,” he lamented.

Mr. Adator applauded the Naana Kakie Foundation, an NGO, and stakeholder in Ada for their initiative to help with HIV/AIDS education for the public, schools, organisations, and religious organisations to prevent the spread of the virus and promote safe sex practices.

He added that their sensitization programme, which is done in the local language, significantly helped in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS.

He urged HIV/AIDS patients to take their medication regularly while cautioning the youth against engaging in unprotected sex and emphasised the need for more education on the disease as a tool to curb the spread of the disease.