AIDS commission implements new initiative on HIV and AIDS
The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has begun implementing a strategic plan known as ’90-90-90 fast track target’ by the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) to end the HIV and AIDS menace by 2030.
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The 90-90-90 target seeks to ensure that by 2020, 90 per cent of all people living with HIV would know their HIV status; 90 per cent of all people diagnosed with HIV infection would receive sustained anti-retroviral therapy, and 90 per cent of all people receiving anti-retroviral therapy would have viral suppression.
Under the three-phase programme, the commission is targeting an estimated six million Ghanaians to be tested for the virus by February next year to cut down the current number of 250,000 Ghanaians estimated to be living with the disease.
Sub-Saharan African countries, including Ghana, adopted the targets at the 25th African Union (AU) Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in June 2015.
Consultative meeting
The Director-General of the GAC, Dr Angela El-Adas, announced this in a speech read on her behalf at a consultative meeting in Kumasi last Saturday.
The meeting is being replicated in all 10 regions of the country to help map a strategy to deal with the menace.
The Ashanti Region continues to record high numbers of people infected with HIV.
On the strategy, she explained that the first 90 days would be used to boost HIV testing rates, which are generally low in the country; reduce stigma and discrimination towards HIV testing and improve accountability on HIV testing services.
She called for continued support from all stakeholders to realise the objectives contained in the strategy.
Encourage more voluntary testing
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr John Alexander Ackon, noted that the only way to help achieve the first 90 target was to encourage more people to test voluntarily.
He said the campaign required collaborative action from the various stakeholders involved in HIV testing services.