By Muniratu Akweley Issah
Accra, Aug. 26, GNA – The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has called for nationwide expansion of an HIV prevention project targeting adolescent girls and young women to reduce new infections.
The Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) Project, supported by the Global Fund, is being implemented in selected high-burden districts in the Greater Accra, Eastern and Ashanti Regions.
Dr Fred Nana Poku, Director of Technical Services at the GAC, made the call in an interview on the sidelines of a review meeting for peer educators and community health nurses working on the project.
He said the project had contributed to a decline in new HIV infections among young people, but the number of infections remained high and required prevention interventions to be extended beyond the current implementation areas.
The project is being implemented by Hope for Future Generations (HFFG) in partnership with the National AIDS/STI Control Programme, with support from the Global Fund.
Dr Poku said expanding the project to other regions would help extend the interventions to areas that were not currently covered.
“We think that the project should be expanded to involve other areas and regions, not just the implementing regions,” he said.
GAC data showed that 3,835 new HIV infections were recorded among young people aged 15–24 years in 2025, representing 27.5 per cent of all new infections.
The figure declined from 4,278 new infections recorded among the age group in 2024, but young people continued to account for more than one-quarter of new infections.
Dr Poku said the proportion demonstrated the need for sustained and broader prevention efforts, particularly as adolescents and young people engaging in risk-taking behaviours were found across the country.
He said concentrating prevention activities in selected regions could leave areas with currently lower infection levels vulnerable to becoming new hotspots.
“The fact that young people still accounted for more than one-quarter of new infections highlights the need for sustained and broader prevention efforts.
Adolescents and young people engaged in risk-taking behaviours across the country, areas currently recording low infections can become new hotspots if prevention activities are concentrated only in selected regions,” he said.
Dr Poku said nationwide expansion would require additional funding to provide a comprehensive package of HIV prevention interventions for adolescent girls and young women.
He said extending the project could make successful interventions available to underserved areas and help prevent emerging hotspots from undermining progress towards Ghana’s goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Dr Anthony Ashinyo, Deputy Programme Manager of the National AIDS/STI Control Programme, said the project had reached adolescent girls and young women considered at risk with HIV education, STI screening, condoms, HIV self-test kits and referrals for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
He said the combination of interventions had helped beneficiaries to make informed choices and adopt safer practices.
Dr Ashinyo said new HIV infections had declined since the interventions began in the targeted areas, describing the development as encouraging.
Ms Rita Lodonu, Project Coordinator of the AGYW Project at HFFG, said efforts were being intensified to reach more beneficiaries before the project ended on Dec. 31, 2026.
She said the use of social media influencers had increased engagement with beneficiaries, who were seeking information on where to obtain HIV self-test kits and access health services.
Ms Lodonu said the review meeting would enable peer educators and community health nurses to identify challenges and develop practical solutions to improve their engagement with beneficiaries.
She said the project would continue using community-based and digital approaches to promote HIV testing and prevention and link beneficiaries to appropriate health services.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Muniratu Akweley Issah