By Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, April 22, GNA – A National Workplace HIV and Wellness Policy designed to strengthen the country’s response to HIV while promoting healthier and more productive workplace has been launched.
The policy is expected to reduce new infections, improve quality of life, and safeguard national productivity by integrating HIV interventions into broader wellness programmes across both formal and informal sectors.
The policy launched in Accra brought together government officials, employers, organised labour, civil society organisations, academia, faith-based groups, and development partners.
Dr. Grace Ayensu- Danquah Deputy Minister of Health, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Health, described the policy as a timely intervention that placed workplace health at the centre of Ghana’s public health response.
She emphasised that HIV status must never be a basis for discrimination in recruitment, retentionl or promotion.
The Deputy Health Minister stressed that employment decisions must be guided by competence, merit and fitness for work, not by stigma, fear or misinformation.
She explained that the workplace provided a strategic platform for prevention, education, stigma reduction, voluntary counselling, testing, and treatment support.
She noted that the policy adopted an integrated wellness approach, addressing not only HIV but also non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancers, and mental health conditions.
“Workplace health interventions should not be limited to HIV education alone. They should include regular screening, health promotion, mental health awareness, physical activity, nutritional education and clear referral patterns into the health system,” she said.
This, she added, aligned with the government’s free primary health care agenda, which seeks to expand access to essential services, especially prevention, screening, and early diagnosis.
She emphasised that implementation of the policy must be flexible and inclusive, involving partnerships with trade associations, artisan groups, local leadership structures, and community-based platforms.
“Mobile outreach, peer-led education, and community screening will be essential to ensure that the benefits of the policy reach all segments of the workforce,” she said.
The Deputy Minister said sustainability was not only about financing but also about leadership, accountability, and workplace culture.
“We need leadership from employers, trust from workers, support from organised labour, and effective coordination from state institutions. Above all, we need workplace cultures that reject stigma and affirm dignity,” she said.
Dr. Kharmacelle Prosper Akanbong, Director General, Ghana AIDS Commission, highlighted the urgency of workplace-based interventions.
He noted that national statistics estimate over 334,000 Ghanaians are living with HIV, with more than 15,000 new infections recorded in 2024.
“A large proportion of these infections occur among people in their most productive years, reinforcing the importance of workplace-based intervention,” he said.
He added that while Ghana had set a target to identify 95 per cent of persons living with HIV by last year, current figures show only 68 per cent coverage, leaving nearly a quarter of affected individuals without access to essential interventions.
“The workplace is where most of us spend close to eight to twelve hours daily, and it is an avenue to reach persons living with HIV and provide them with the needed support,” he said.
The policy would ensure a collaboration between Ghana AIDS Commission, with the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment, and the International Labour Organization, will lead a phased rollout of the policy across all regions.
This would include dissemination of the policy, technical support to institutions, and alignment of workplace programmes with the national framework.
The initiative complements Ghana’s National Strategic Plan for HIV and TB and aligns with the national HIV sustainability framework, reflecting a wider continental shift towards stronger domestic ownership of health systems.
GNA
22 April 2026
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong