Fight against HIV spread at risk – SEND Ghana

Send Ghana is warning that HIV rate is likely to increase because the amount of money devoted to AIDS prevention is too low.

Currently, 0.5 percent of district assembly common fund is used to support HIV AIDS programs.

However, SEND Ghana wants the amount to be tripled to 2 percent.

A key factor driving this position is a recent survey by a group – People for Health- which revealed that the lack of funds prevents the Ghana AIDS Commission from properly implementing AIDS related programs.

Country director for SEND Ghana George Osei Obimpeh said the situation must be addressed to avert a crisis in the near future.

“We are not saying that the assemblies should not be creative in looking for other means to help the fight against HIV, what we are saying is that the task to be taken at the district level is so huge that we cannot be looking at one source. We have to find a way of increasing the district assembly proportion for HIV support from the current rate to a higher one in order to effectively fight the disease,” he told the media in Accra.

The HIV/AIDS elimination in Ghana seems to be progressing rapidly. The Government of Ghana and Ghana AIDS Commission estimated the number of adults and children living with HIV as of 2014 at 150,000 and prevalence at 1.37% in 2014. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated the HIV prevalence in adults to be 0.9% at the end of 2012, with an estimated 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS.