Ghana recorded 13,951 new HIV infections in 2025, with women making up 63.8 per cent, the Ghana AIDS Commission’s Isaiah Doe Kwao said at a partnership forum.
Figures presented by the Ghana AIDS Commission show that women made up 8,900 of the new infections, representing 63.8 per cent of the total.
Greater Accra recorded the highest number of new infections, with 3,141 cases. The region also has the largest population of people living with HIV, a reflection of its high population concentration.
The Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Commission, Isaiah Doe Kwao, presented the figures at the 2026 HIV and AIDS Partnership Forum, where he said there was an urgent need to strengthen prevention, testing, and treatment efforts to reverse the trend.
He highlighted the factors contributing to new infections and called for greater public awareness and financial support for the national HIV response.
Off track on global targets
The figures have raised concerns about the country’s progress in controlling HIV. The Commission has warned that Ghana remains off track to achieve the global 95-95-95 targets under its 2026-2030 National Strategic Plan.
The targets aim for 95 per cent of people living with HIV to know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed to be on treatment, and 95 per cent of those on treatment to have suppressed viral loads.
Mr Kwao said national statistics showed that slightly more than 330,000 people were living with HIV across Ghana at the end of 2025. Greater Accra accounted for more than 77,000 of them, the largest share recorded in any region.
He said the concentration of people in major population centres, alongside patterns of sexual behaviour, partly explained the high numbers recorded in these areas.
“This is important because in populations where there are more people, you realise that more people are engaging in heterosexual sex, which is the highest mode of transmission,” he said.
He added, however, that the key concern should be how to reduce new infections rather than simply focus on the numbers.
“But the most important is what are we doing to reduce these numbers?” he asked.
Behaviour behind the spread
Mr Kwao identified risky sexual behaviour, including sex without condoms and having multiple sexual partners, as major factors contributing to the spread of HIV.
He cited casual sexual encounters and relationships outside committed partnerships as examples of behaviours that could increase the risk of infection.
“For example, side chickism, hookups, people having sex without using a condom. This is one of the most critical transmission modes to get HIV and AIDS,” he said.
Call to test and stay faithful
He urged sexually active people to know their HIV status, use condoms consistently, and avoid behaviours that could expose them to infection.
“If you should go and test, if you test and you are negative, you live a non-risky life. You stick to your partner. It’s as simple as that. And be faithful to your partner,” he said.
Mr Kwao’s urgent call for stronger prevention, testing, and treatment efforts, together with greater public awareness and financial support, comes as the Commission works towards the goals of its 2026-2030 plan.
Source: 3News
