The Acting Director of Policy and Planning at the Ghana AIDS Commission, Mr. John Aliasu Mahama has emphasized that Ghana’s laws prohibit discrimination against people living with HIV in employment, housing, and education.
Speaking on Bullet TV’s Morning Target with host, Ebeneze De-Gaulle, Mr. Mahama stated that an individual’s HIV status alone cannot legally be used to deny them a job or recruitment opportunity.
He further noted that landlords cannot evict tenants because they are living with HIV, while schools are also prohibited from discriminating against students or teachers based on their HIV status.
“The law prohibits any form of denying recruitment or employment based on a person’s HIV status alone. At home, you can’t evict people because of their HIV status. In schools, you can’t discriminate against a child or a teacher because of their HIV status,” he said.
According to him, many security agencies around the world adopted broad restrictions in the late 1990s and early 2000s when effective antiretroviral therapy was not widely available. However, with the availability of modern HIV treatment, people living with HIV can lead healthy, productive lives.
“HIV status alone is no longer sufficient, and that is the engagement that is happening,” he stated.
Mr. Mahama explained that several African countries have already revised their policies to reflect current medical evidence.
“Kenya has revised its policies, South Africa has revised its policies, and we think it’s time for Ghana to revise its policies,” he said.
He emphasized that modern antiretroviral therapy enables people living with HIV to remain healthy and continue contributing effectively in the workplace, making it necessary for policies to align with current scientific knowledge rather than outdated assumptions
Mr. Mahama stressed the need for greater public awareness of these legal protections, urging Ghanaians to respect the rights and dignity of people living with HIV and to help eliminate stigma and discrimination.
Ghana has recorded a significant reduction in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths, according to the 2025 National HIV Estimates and Projections released by the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC). The report shows that new HIV infections declined from 16,189 in 2024 to 13,951 in 2025, while AIDS-related deaths also reduced from 13,429 to 12,051 within the same period, representing nearly a 14% decline.