Tema, Nov. 10, MNN – Dr. Stephen Ayisi-Addo, Programme Manager, the National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NACP) has upscale enhanced strategies aimed at empowering the population to prevent new HIV infections, and ensuring the availability of and accessibility towards prevention, treatment, care, and support services.
The strategies were also geared toward mitigating the social and economic effect of HIV on persons infected and affected by HIV and subsequently ensuring the availability of adequate funding to execute the policy strategies.
Dr. Ayisi-Addo, stated during the 17th edition of the Ghana News Agency-Tema Region’s Stakeholders Engagement and Workers Appreciation Day Seminar in Tema.
The GNA Tema Stakeholder Engagement is a platform rolled out for state and non-state actors to address national issues and serves as a motivational mechanism to recognize the editorial contribution of reporters toward national development in general and the growth and promotion of the Tema GNA as the industrial news hub.
Speaking on the topic; “Ghana’s HIV strategies in line with the global health strategy for HIV, STI and Viral Hepatitis; An integrated approach to prevention,” Dr. Ayisi-Addo revealed that NACP has initiated the combination of prevention, and treatment for Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW), as one of the strategies.
He said the Programme was determined to continue implementing key policies geared toward accelerating the progress of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
Dr Ayisi-Addo said it was the goal of the NACP to achieve epidemic control and fast-track targets of 95-95-95 by 2025 as a means of accelerating the global target to end the epidemic by 2030.
The 95-95-95 targets which was launched globally by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has the aim of diagnosing 95 percent of all HIV positive persons, put at least 95 per cent of those diagnosed on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and also achieve viral suppression for 95 per cent of those on treatment by 2025.
“There was also the provision of timely Pre-Exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis to Key Populations and persons exposed to HIV,” he said.
Dr Ayisi-Addo noted that NACP has also initiated the implementation of HIV self-testing, and the effective integration of HIV services to ensure universal health coverage.
He indicated that these targets and commitments in the Ghana’s HIV Strategy which was in line with that of the Global Strategy when achieved, would ensure that the number of people who newly acquired HIV would decrease from 1.7 million in 2019 to less than 370, 000 by 2025, and the number of people dying from AIDS-related illnesses would also decrease from 690,000 in 2019 to less than 250,000 in 2025.
