According to the Ghana Aids Commission, approximately 100,000 people in the nation are HIV carriers.
According to the Commission’s Director General, Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene, HIV carriers are uninformed of their status and are spreading it.
He made the allegations to JoyNews after revealing the HIV results at a news conference in Accra.
“More than 28% of people living with HIV still do not know their HIV status because they have not tested. That represents about 100,000 people. They are spreading it unknowingly and that is not the best,” he said.
According to him, everyone should be aware of their HIV status.
He added that this is because it may improve therapy success rates.
“If you wait till you get AIDS before you go to the hospital, it will take a much longer time for you to recover in terms of boosting your immune system for it to regenerate and support your body, it takes a longer time,” he said.
Dr. Atuahene stated that the Commission has launched an intensive search for over 100,000 HIV-positive people in order to get them on treatment.
This, he claims, is why the HIV self-testing programme was launched.
“There are people who are under-served when it comes to HIV services. Some are hard to reach and they may not have the opportunity to get any of the services so bringing the services to their doorstep will enable those who fear to know their status to at least start the process by testing to see whether they are reactive or not.”
