HIV Positive Persons Can�t Be Traced � AIDS Commission

The Ghana AIDS Commission has revealed that many HIV positive Ghanaians cannot be traced and counselled after testing positive due to poor addressing system in the country. This means the affected persons cannot continue treatment and could possibly spread the disease if they do not receive proper education on how to live meaningful lives after testing positive. The Aids Commission said this at an editors� forum on Thursday in Accra. According to the Commission Ghanaians between ages of 20 to 49 have the highest HIV infection rate above national average. The statistics supports a joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) which revealed that below 10 percent of Ghana�s middle class use condoms. According to the United Nation�s subsidiary responsible for the fight against HIV/AIDS, research data available to them indicate that in Ghana, there is very low patronage of condoms. Girmay Haille, the country coordinator of the UNAIDS told Citi News in an interview that more sex workers use condoms than the other youth groups who generally fall in the middle class. �When you look at specific population groups like sex workers, condom use is now 90 percent that is why you see that sex work based AIDS infections have dropped from 80percent to 12 percent and still declining. Meanwhile a report on the implementation of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA), 2010-2013, put together by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in 2012 noted, among other indicators, that new HIV infections are decreasing. According to the report, new infections continued to decrease from 12,077 in 2011 to 7,991 in 2012. In contrast, the total number of persons living with HIV and AIDS in 2012 increased from 217,428 in 2011 to 235,982 in 2012, following a decline from 267,069 in 2009. Eastern region of Ghana has highest HIV prevalence rate. Upper West and Northern regions have lowest.