The Acting Regional Technical Coordinator Ghana AIDS Commission, Ebenezer Appiah Agyekum Abrokwa, has described the surge in new HIV infections in the Eastern Region as worrying.
The Ghana AIDS commission in its September 2021 report revealed that out of the 18,928 new HIV infections in 2020, a total of 5,211 are young people between the ages of 15 and 24. The figure represented 28% of all new infections in 2020.
Of the young people between the ages of 15 and 24 infected with HIV, 4,325 representing 83% are females, while 886 representing 17% are males.
The report indicated that out of the 18,928 new infections recorded in 2020, adults of 25 years and above constitute 10,032, representing 53%.
The total number of new infections of children from ages 0-14 mother to child transmission was 3,596, representing 19%.
According to the report, the 15 to 24-year-olds were getting infected by having sex with old men.
He said the total HIV population in the country as at the end of 2020 stands at 346,120 and the prevalence rate is 1.68%.
Over 47,866 people are living with HIV in the Eastern Region.
Read Also: Weija: Four robbery suspects arrested
Speaking on the spike in new HIV cases in the Eastern Region with sit-in-host Nana Owoahene Acheampong on Atinka FM’s AM Drive, Acting Regional Technical Coordinator Ghana AIDS Commission, Ebenezer Appiah Agyekum Abrokwa, noted that Lower Manya Krobo and Upper Manya Krobo are part of the top five districts with highest adult HIV prevalence among age 15 to 24.
“Looking at the data from the Ghana AIDS Commission, the HIV cases in the Eastern Region have gone up and it is worrying. The mode of transmission also counts for the number of cases. The outbreak of Covid-19 also played a part, because of Covid, all the education was geared towards covid, leaving HIV to its fate”, Ebenezer Appiah Agyekum Abrokwa told Nana Owoahene Acheampong.
He called on the youth to desist from risky sexual behaviour and practice safe sex since HIV is still in the system.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu | [email protected]
