By Frank Kwame Abbor
Ho, July 10, GNA – Madam Mary Naa Asheley Anyomi, Volta Regional Technical Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) Technical Support Unit (TSU), has appealed to persons with reactive HIV screening results not to lose hope but to seek confirmatory testing, counselling and appropriate medical care, stressing that HIV is no longer a death sentence.
She said individuals who were disqualified during recent recruitment exercises on medical grounds should not despair, as many of the identified health conditions were treatable.
Madam Anyomi explained that persons with reactive HIV screening results must undergo the mandatory confirmatory testing process before any diagnosis can be established.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), she urged affected persons to follow the appropriate medical procedures and access available support services.
“There is still life and there is still hope. People should go through counselling, complete the required tests and access treatment where necessary so they can continue to live productive and fulfilling lives,” she said.
Madam Anyomi expressed concern that recent public communication on HIV screening results had generated fear, panic, stigma, and discrimination.
She said the disclosure did not follow accepted public health communication protocols and risked undermining years of progress made in Ghana’s HIV response efforts.
The Regional Technical Coordinator stated that a diagnosis of HIV should not automatically deprive anyone of employment opportunities.
She noted that the Ghana AIDS Commission Act, 2016 (Act 938), and the 1992 Constitution protect the rights of persons living with HIV against discrimination in employment and other aspects of public life.
Madam Anyomi said the Commission had issued a public statement and intensified media engagement to reassure the public that effective treatment enables people living with HIV to remain healthy, productive, and capable of contributing meaningfully to national development.
She disclosed that the Commission had stepped up HIV education, testing, and condom promotion activities across the Volta Region, with interventions targeted at district-specific drivers of new infections.
These, she said, include commercial transport operators, market women, young people, and other vulnerable groups.
Madam Anyomi said the Commission had also inaugurated district HIV committees and was collaborating with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to integrate HIV education into school-based health and reproductive health clubs.
She said the initiative was aimed at promoting positive behavioural change among young people and strengthening HIV prevention efforts.
Madam Anyomi commended the media, civil society organisations, and community groups for supporting HIV awareness campaigns and urged continued responsible reporting on HIV-related issues.
She said such efforts would help eliminate stigma, encourage voluntary testing, and sustain Ghana’s gains in preventing new HIV infections.
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Lydia Kukua Asamoah