Provide Antiretroviral Therapy at antenatal clinics - Dr Addo
The 2016 HIV Sentinel Survey Report has been launched with a call on health service providers to provide Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) at antenatal clinics (ANC).
Advertisement
According to the report, most pregnant women diagnosed with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and referred to ART treatment centres were reluctant to go because of the stigma attached to the disease.
The Programme Manager of the National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NACP) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo, who made the call, said the provision of the medications by the providers would, therefore, help curb the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the country.
This is in line with the country’s efforts to attain zero new infections and deaths from HIV/AIDS, within the shortest possible time.
The report that was compiled by the NACP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, was launched in Accra yesterday.
Survey
Dr Addo said his outfit conducted a survey targeting pregnant women within the period, September 12 to December 2, 2016 in 69 antenatal clinics located in 40 sentinel sites across the country.
He said out of the 18, 287 samples collected in the survey, 18, 280 representing 99.9 per cent records were analysed. The highest proportion of samples analysed were women aged between 25-29 years while the lowest was women aged between 45 and 49 years.
The manager explained that “most of these pregnant women were diagnosed with the virus and referred to ART treatment centres. However, the women felt reluctant to go because of the stigma attached to the disease. I believe that, if some of the midwives and nurses are trained at the ANC, they can counsel the women and give them their ART treatment without referring them to the ART centres.”
Other Trending Stories
Prevalence
According to Dr Addo, the median prevalence, that is the proportion of the population who had the disease at a given point in time for 2016, was 2.4 per cent. This represented a second consecutive increase from the 2014 prevalence of 1.6 per cent.
He said the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions have the highest HIV prevalence at 2.7 per cent, while the Northern Region recorded the lowest of 0.7 per cent prevalence rate.
He, however, said the HIV prevalence among the young population between 15-24 years remained unchanged at 1.1 per cent, and that if the mother-to-child transmission was addressed by putting in the right measures, there would be no record of new infections.
Fight against AIDS
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyemang Manu, said generating the needed strategic information for disease control and health policy development was a major priority of the ministry.
He, however, noted that “the 2016 HIV Sentinel results shows a gradual reversal of the progress made in keeping ANC prevalence below 2 per cent, the second consecutive increment over the 2014 prevalence survey to 2.4 per cent. This must awaken us all to avoid complacency.”
The minister pledged his ministry’s preparedness to work closely with the Ghana AIDS Commission board to ensure that the government’s policy and plan for 2016-2020, for HIV-AIDS prevention and control was realised despite the current pressures.
“I wish to invite the private sector and civil society groups to support my efforts to mobilise the needed resources to fully fund the new UNAIDS aspirations of 90/90 targets. At least we must halt Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in the shortest possible time through the delivery of sustained antiretroviral therapy,” he added.