The Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Steve Kyeremeh Atuahene has partly attributed the rise in new HIV infections to individuals’ reluctance to disclose their HIV status to their spouses, fearing desertion.
Dr Steve Kyeremeh Atuahene explained that the refusal of some HIV-positive persons to continue their medication is a significant factor in the spike.
According to the Ghana AIDS Commission, over three hundred thousand people live with HIV in the country.
In 2023 the country also reported 17,774 new cases, with 11,317 being women and 6,457 men affected.
Dr Atuahene said the fear of a spouse deserting the other leads to non-disclosure of status.
He also highlighted the increased vulnerability of females to HIV infections compared to males.
He said the transmission rate from woman to man is just about 2 percent whereas it is more than 12 percent from a man to a woman.
