Ghana needs to increase domestic contribution to HIV response—Prof Torpey

Professor Kwasi Torpey, Dean, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, has called for urgent steps to increase domestic contribution to HIV to end AIDS by 2030.

He said the country did not only need to provide services to its people, but also demonstrate commitment to the national response.

Prof Torpey made the call during the University of Ghana’s sixth InauguralLecturefor the 2022/2023 academic year on the theme: “Ending HIV/AIDS in Africa: Reflections from the Clinic, Field and Classroom”.

He said the approval and operationalisation of the national HIV and AIDS Fund would be a step in the right direction, adding that a strong HIV programme could only do well in a strong health system.

The Dean, School of Public Health, said the World Bank projected that 52 countries, home to 43 per cent of people living with HIV, would experience a significant drop in their public spending capacity through 2026.

“This makes the role of domestic financing of HIV programme very crucial,” he stated.

Prof Torpey said it was also important to build the capacity of the next generation of African scientists in HIV programming through
appropriate partnership and mentorship.

He said the future of HIV was bright, adding that the country had moved from more than 12 tablets to a tablet a day and was hopeful that with current scientific advancement, patients would have once-a-year treatment.

The availability of more acting agents in HIV treatment would require the country to make changes in the health system to respond to the advances.

In 2022, West and Central Africa had 160,000 new HIV infections with 120,000 HIV deaths. In Eastern and Southern Africa, there were 500,000 new infections and 260,000 deaths.

Ghana in 2022, recorded 16, 574 new infections and 9, 359 deaths.

In 2021, Eswatini, Botswana, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe achieved the 95-95-95 whilst eight others are on track to reach the target.

The target aims to diagnose 95 per cent of all HIV-positive individuals, provide antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 95 per cent of those diagnosed, and achieve viral suppression for 95 per cent of those treated by 2030.

Prof Torpey stated that to end AIDS in Africa, there was a need to attain the state of systemic epidemic control.

Epidemic control of HIV is when the number of new HIV infections is less than the number of HIV deaths.

That, he said, would lead to a gradual decline in persons infected with HIV