World AIDS Day - 1st December

Ghana joins the world to mark the Day. World AIDS Day is a day set aside by UNAIDS to inspire global solidarity for persons infected with and affected by HIV as well as commemorate those who have lost their lives to the epidemic. It is a day set aside to assess the impact of the epidemic on nations and join hands to plan strategies to minimize its impact.

The global theme for the occasion is “Know Your Status.” Ghana has selected the sub-theme “Test, Treat to Suppress and Stop New HIV Infections.” HIV testing is an essential step in accessing HIV services. Even though HIV does not have a cure, there is treatment thanks to advancement in science, and, in Ghana, medication for HIV treatment is free.

Ghana launched this year’s World AIDS Day on 1st November 2018 in Accra. This was followed by month-long media and community related activities to sensitize the public to HIV and encourage all to adopt preventive habits or live positively if already infected. A grand national durbar which will be held at Ho on Saturday, December 1, 2018 accompanied by regional and sub-regional commemoration of the day across the country.

Read the entire press release.

West Africa Program To Combat AIDS & STI

WAPCAS commenced operations in Ghana in 1996 as part of a regional project of the Canadian International Development Agency. For more than 20 years, WAPCAS has been implementing STI/HIV interventions for Key Populations (KPs) with technical and financial support from key donors and government agencies including CIDA, USAID, The Global Fund, GIZ, DANIDA, AJWS, and GOG.

Currently, WAPCAS is reaching about 35,000 KPs (female sex workers and their non-paying partners as well as men who have sex with men) in various projects which are implemented by 6 national coordinators, 35 field officers, 253 peer educators and trained Ghana Health Service support nurses. These projects are coordinated from the head office and 28 satellite offices across the country. The organization created and supported a network of 21 KP friendly clinics that offer STI and HIV services. WAPCAS also facilitated and supported the formation of the first KP Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in Kumasi and Ashaiman, Ghana.

For their achievements, WAPCAS was awarded the best local Civil Society Organization during the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Ghana AIDS Commission in 2012. In 2018, WAPCAS was given an award by PEPFAR for the outstanding contribution and leadership in the Female Sex Workers space.

TB and poverty

Ghana’s first national survey on costs faced by TB patients and their households revealed that 64% of TB affected households face catastrophic costs, i.e. the TB related costs exceed 20% of their income.

This survey carried out with 691 TB clients from 25 districts across Ghana indicated that TB patients are over proportionally affected by poverty. While 24% of Ghanaians live under the poverty line (<1.90 USD / day), it is 46% of the TB patients. This means that almost half of the people living with TB are too poor to spare a small amount for their treatment. The catastrophic TB related costs drive even more TB patients into poverty. After TB treatment, 60% of the patients live under the poverty line.

Each TB episode adds on average 2,000 GHS to their cost and as much as 3,000 GHS in the case of drug resistant TB. The biggest cost drivers are income loss and additional expenditures for nutritious foods (each 34%), followed by medical cost (19%) and non-medical cost, incl. transport related to treatment (14%). More than half of the TB patients in the survey had to rely on savings, borrowing, or selling assets in order to cover the additional cost. Reports on delayed start of treatment and treatment interruptions, that might result into drug resistant TB, for financial constraints are not unusual.

Dr. Bonsu, Programme Manager of the National TB Programme, emphasized the importance of an enhanced TB care financing system within the Universal Health Coverage policy, the “free TB care” policy and additional relief measures to help TB patients reduce cost associated with treatment.