Ghana is home to HIV/AIDS, just like any other nation.

Only Africa, which includes Ghana,

accounts for more than 75 to 80 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases worldwide out of the roughly 193
countries in the world. Around 150,000 people were thought to have the virus as of 2014. 2014
saw a 1.37 percent increase in new HIV/AIDS cases, with the rate being highest in Ghana's
Eastern Region and lowest in its Northern Region. According to national estimates from 2018,
the estimated adult HIV prevalence is 1.69%. Of the 16 administrative regions in the nation, the
Ashanti Region has the highest HIV prevalence, according to the AIDS commission. He stated
that there are currently 73,245 HIV-positive individuals living in Ashanti Region. Despite the
steps taken by the nation's health sector, HIV/AIDS cases are still rising in Ghana. Four main
reasons for the rise in new HIV cases in Ghana include poverty, heterosexual sex, problems with
HIV testing, and people coming into contact with contaminated blood. These are the main factors
that influence the rising HIV prevalence in Ghana.

Both men and women's increased rates of new HIV cases in Ghana are negatively impacted by
poverty. In Ghana, the majority of those who live in extreme poverty are more likely to contract
HIV than those who do not. Many men in Ghana live in extreme poverty because their income is
below what they can afford to spend. Poor living conditions, homelessness, inadequate child
care, insufficient access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and underfunded schools are all
associated with poverty and have a negative impact on Ghana's HIV prevalence. For males, for
example, the limited funds are typically insufficient to pay for condoms to prevent the infection,
let alone an HIV test when they find new partners to have sex with. Additionally, most men lack
the resources to treat STDs that they already have, which can lead to genital sores near their
reproductive organs and increase their risk of contracting HIV when they have unprotected sex
with an infected person. Vulnerable women, like widows, may be dependent on some men for
their food, clothing, shelter, or other basic physical needs. They are unable to bargain for safe sex
because of their dependence on these men. For example, such women might not be in a position
to insist that their male partners use condoms to protect themselves from the infection. These
women are always contagious, especially if they cut themselves while having sex with an
infected person. Therefore, it is important to recognize the contribution that poverty makes to the
country's rising HIV infection rate.
The issue with HIV testing is another factor contributing to the rise in new cases of HIV despite
all preventive measures being put in place. Many Ghanaians, particularly men and women who
have recently started dating, choose not to get tested for HIV. Due to their belief that HIV is the
devil's or the indecent lifestyle's punishment, some religious organizations discourage people
from getting tested for the virus. Due to this, many people refuse to get tested for HIV, even if
they switch partners without first learning their new partner's status. HIV has frequently been
mistakenly labeled as a sex disease. Due to this ignorant attitude, many people have refrained
from getting tested for HIV because they might be accused of adultery if they are church
members. As a result, many people get infected when they have sex without wearing protection
with an infected person. Additionally, a mother with HIV who refuses to get tested for the virus
during childbirth runs the risk of infecting her unborn child. For instance, even though one can
be infected, a man planning to marry a woman might not check both of their HIV statuses due to
their self-confidence. Since there may have been cuts and during this seroconversion period, HIV
cannot be detected, the other partner may have had the virus after years of marriage when the
infected person's viral load is very high. Again, since no precautions may have been taken during
pregnancy and childbirth, the couples may also have passed the virus on to their offspring. The
virus may be present in the mother, the father, and any offspring they may have, which will add
to Ghana's high rate of new HIV cases.

The abandonment of the important population is also a major factor in Ghana's rise in new HIV
cases. Men who have sex with men, those who inject drugs, those confined to a prison or other
places with strict rules, sex workers, and transgender people are some examples of these
individuals. These people experience discrimination frequently, and as a result, they work to
conceal their identities to avoid social stigma. Sharing syringes by intravenous drug users as a
result of their inability to purchase new ones increases the risk of the virus spreading from one
infected person to another or to a group of people. For instance, sex workers who contract STIs
are not given medical attention because society in Ghana despises prostitution, which is
unacceptable. In addition, because the majority of sex workers and homosexuals lack the
resources to care for their health requirements and do not receive government assistance with
regard to their health, some of these individuals leave some infections untreated, which can result
in genital ulcers. Since the majority of people in the general population use the services of these
sex workers, the virus is then spread from the key population to the general population.
Again, in order to avoid stigmatization and discrimination, members of the key population may
engage in activities common to the general population, such as marriage, thereby spreading the
virus.

Finally, exposure to tainted blood products is one of the major causes of the increased number of
new cases of HIV. Many people become infected after receiving infected blood samples through
transfusion as a result of the use of antiquated methods for testing blood before transfusion. Only
during the seroconversion period can the HIV virus be identified using a molecular test, which is
uncommon in Ghana. When emergency testing is required, a person may test negative,
particularly if they are in the seroconversion period or the viral load is very low. For instance, if
a patient receives a blood transfusion from a hospital and contracts an infection, they might not
be aware of it because the blood was initially tested negative. These individuals may infect their
spouses and even children if they get married, increasing the number of new cases in the nation.
Furthermore, reusable hospital equipment that is not properly sterilized and is exposed to
infected blood increases the number of HIV cases in Ghana. The virus is then spread to all
subsequent patients on whom these tools are used on if the abortion tools are not properly
sterilized after being used on an infected person.

Although Ghana has implemented numerous measures to stop the spread of HIV, the number and
rate of infections keep rising every day. It's important to remember that HIV is not just a sexual
disease; it can also spread through blood transfusions, contact with infected objects, and not
knowing whether one's sexual partner is HIV-positive. It will be crucial for the Ghanaian
government to attend to the needs of the main population in order to reach the point where it is
expected that the spread of HIV will be stopped. In order to prevent infecting people with
infected people's blood, modern methods of testing blood samples should also be adopted.
REFERENCES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2015 sexually transmitted diseases treatment
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults
and Adolescents. Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in adults and adolescents with
HIV. Dec 2019

King, K.M., et al., Co-occurrence of Sexual Risk Behaviors and Substance Use Across Emerging
Adulthood: Evidence for State- and Trait-level Associations. Addiction, 2012.

Rahmanian, S., et al., Cigarette smoking in the HIV-infected population. Proc Am Thorac Soc,

2011. 8(3): p. 313-9