The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has developed a national framework that will guide HIV interventions for the youth in the country.
Developed with funding and technical support from UNFPA, the framework is designed to guide all stakeholders implementing, or seeking to implement, HIV prevention policies and programmes for the youth.
It also serves as a comprehensive guide to streamline, coordinate and strengthen youth-focused HIV responses across sectors. The new framework combines an implementation guide with a governance and management structure, enabling organisations that are initiating or implementing HIV programmes for young people to use it as a practical reference tool.
It has been described as different from other existing HIV youth-centred documents because of the management component in it.
The GAC organised a dissemination meeting in Accra last Friday on the new framework for stakeholders in the HIV space, where the framework was also unveiled.
Rationale
Explaining the rationale for the framework, the Director of Technical Services at the GAC, Dr Fred Nana Poku, noted that in Ghana, the youth continue to account for a significant share of new HIV infections, contributing between 25 and 30 per cent of all new cases nationwide.
In 2023, he said, more than 1,900 new cases of HIV were recorded among the youth, representing 23 per cent of all the infections in Ghana, while in 2024, about 4,700 new cases were recorded among them, contributing to 30 per cent of all infections.
Unfortunately, he said implementation of youth-focused programmes was erratic, inadequate and fragmented and it was in response to these challenges and many more related to reproductive health, that the GAC and its partners, particularly UNFPA, embarked on the development of a youth framework to guide HIV-focused interventions in the country.
“The dissemination of the framework for HIV interventions represents not only a strategic guidance but also a renewed commitment to ensuring that young people are at the centre of our HIV response,” he added.
He said the priorities of the framework were to equip young people with knowledge and tools to make informed decisions; ensure services were inclusive, confidential, and free from stigma; strengthen collaboration with the government, civil society, and youth-led institutions; and leverage digital platforms and peer networks to reach young people effectively.
Overview
Later in an overview of the framework, Dr Poku said it had four focus and priority areas, namely, intentional integration of HIV prevention activities into existing youth development programmes; identification, partnering and co-creation with existing and experienced HIV service delivery institutions; prioritisation and supporting strong youth leadership and youth-focused and or youth-led HIV programme strategies.
He highlighted key elements of the framework designed to guide organisations in carrying out youth and HIV-related activities, including prioritising and supporting strong youth leadership; effectively and intentionally integrating HIV prevention into existing youth development programmes; and promoting youth-focused and youth-led HIV programme strategies.
Dr Poku called on all partners, policy makers, communities, civil society, and the youth to embrace the framework and work together to translate the principles in it into action.
The Programme Specialist, Sexual and Reproductive Health at UNFPA Ghana, Dela Bright Gle, said HIV prevalence among young people was usually a proxy for new infections and with Ghana's population remaining mainly youthful, it needed unique and tailored interventions to harness the demographic dividend and also address young people's vulnerability to HIV.
