By Linda Asante Agyei
Accra, Sept. 25, GNA – Mrs Mercy Acquah-Hayford, the Country Coordinator of International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+Ghana), has called on religious organisations to serve as major agents in preventing stigma and discrimination against Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV).
She said in Ghana, over 90 per cent of the population were identified as religious, predominantly Christian and Muslim, therefore religious bodies wielded immense moral authority, social influence, and infrastructural reach.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, Mrs Acquah-Hayford, said religious leaders held the key to end HIV-related stigma in Ghana, explaining that “when the pulpit speaks with factual knowledge and unconditional compassion rather than judgment and superstition, religious institutions become the ultimate sanctuary for health, healing, and human dignity.”
She noted that religious leaders commanded unmatched trust and broad reach across Ghanaian society, therefore, every church service, Friday prayers, and community gathering must be seen as an untapped health platform that should be leveraged on, using the Pulpit for Mass Public Health Education.
She firmly maintained that prayer and medical science were not mutually exclusive and called on pastors, prophets, and prayer camp managers to quit falsely declaring “miracle cures” that compelled PLHIV to stop adhering to their Antiretroviral Therapy.
Mrs Acquah-Hayford argued that framing HIV as a “moral failing” or “sin” had driven the pandemic underground by fueling fear, denial, and self-stigma.
She said it was unfortunate that persons diagnosed with HIV were often branded as “sinners” and ‘outcasts’ within the religious space, thereby encouraging many to conceal their status and spread the virus, while others lived in self-denial.
“Unlike other non-communicable and infectious diseases that easily kills, HIV gives you time to plan your life and live a normal life for years on medications, yet most of our pastors and Imams are very judgmental against PLHIVs, instead of embracing and showing them love,” she said.
She urged religious leaders not to see persons with the condition as ‘evil’ but rather show them love and called for intensified education among religious leaders to promote effective management and preventive lifestyles against the disease.
The 2025 National HIV Estimates and Projections report by the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) indicates that new HIV infections reduced from 16,189 in 2024 to 13,951 in 2025.
The estimates show that about 337,435 people of all ages were currently living with HIV in Ghana.
Out of this number, 315,513 are adults aged 15 years and above, while 21,922 are children below 15 years.
The report further indicated that 19,528 adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 were living with HIV, with young people aged 15 to 24 years, accounting for 33,317 cases.
Mrs Acquah-Hayford noted that religious leaders had a serious role in the fight, saying it was out of place for them though, to prevent would-be couples from marrying in the name of being HIV/AIDs positive.
He called on religious organisations to engage experts in the counselling of couples with the condition to protect their rights and reduce stigmatisation and discrimination.
“Asking would-be-couples to go and do HIV tests during counselling should not be a must. Counselling is for people to make informed decisions as to whether to go ahead with their marriage or not.
People may be positive and be on drugs which suppress the virus and when they are virally suppressed, it means they cannot transmit to another person and can bring forth a child who is HIV negative, so you should not impose your beliefs or opinions on them,” she explained.
Mrs Acquah-Hayford said it was unfortunate that many people had negative perceptions about PLHIV, adding that, “anyone can be infected.”
She noted that the judgmental minds of the public against PLHIV and AIDS made people coil up and hide, thus affecting the efforts towards creating awareness of the disease.
“We can never end HIV and AIDS if society does not change their perception and continues to stigmatise,” she said
She appealed to society to rather show love to people and encourage them to take their medication religiously until there was a permanent cure.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo