The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has reiterated that there is still no cure for HIV, urging persons diagnosed with the disease to remain on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to suppress the virus and live long with healthy lives.
It said although antiretroviral therapy (ART) was highly effective, Ghana’s treatment coverage remained low, with only 57 per cent of the estimated 337,435 persons living with HIV (PLHIV), currently on treatment.
The Director-General of GAC, Dr Kharmacelle Prosper Akanbong, attributed the low coverage to self – denial, stigma and discrimination, as well as people discontinuing treatment when they began to feel healthy or resorting to prayer and herbal remedies.
He made this known in an interview with The Ghanaian Times on the side-lines of a capacity-building workshop organised by the commission in collaboration with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) yesterday.
According to Dr Akanbong, the use of ART was critical to preventing HIV-related deaths, noting that more than 13,000 deaths were averted through the treatment in 2025 alone.
“ARTs are very effective. If you are consistent with it as prescribed, you are able to get to a stage where the virus is completely suppressed in your system,” he emphasised.
Dr Akanbong said modern HIV treatment had become more convenient, with some patients able to take a single combination tablet daily, making adherence easier.
He, therefore, urged PLHIV to regard ART in the same way as medicines used to manage chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
“If you are a hypertensive patient today, you take your tablet a day. If you are diabetic, you take a tablet a day. Why not an HIV patient who can take a tablet a day?” he noted.
The DG disclosed plans by the GAC to make ARVs accessible through designated pharmacies and other accredited facilities to enable patients to obtain their medicines more discreetly.
He also announced plans to expand access to HIV prevention interventions, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), as well as strengthen condom services to reduce new HIV infections.
While encouraging Ghanaians to make HIV testing part of their routine health checks, Dr Akanbong urged people living with HIV not to discontinue treatment simply because they felt healthy, stressing that the absence of symptoms did not mean the virus had been cured.
“There is hope in ART treatment. There is hope for a long life. There is hope to live healthy and live your God-given life,” he said.
The Country Director of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in Ghana, Dr Ekua Houphouet, underscored the importance of the media in advancing the country’s HIV response.
She said responsible reporting could encourage people to test, promote health-seeking behaviour, increase awareness of HIV prevention options and support treatment adherence.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
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