A National HIV Response Sustainability Assessment and RoadMap (Part A) was on Tuesday launched in Accra to serve as a guide towards securing long-term financing and national ownership of the country’s HIV response.
The roadmap, developed with technical guidance from UNAIDS, sets out key priorities including strengthening domestic resource mobilisation as Ghana works towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, who launched the document, said Ghana needed to move from dependency on external funding towards a nationally owned HIV response.
“For over two decades, Ghana has made remarkable progress in reducing new HIV infections and ensuring that persons living with HIV can have access to treatment and live with dignity, what we need now is sustainable funding,” she said.
She said the government remained committed to promoting inclusivity, among women, children and key population who continue to face threats and vulnerability
Dr Lartey said her ministry will continue to work hand in hand with the Ghana Aids Commission (GAC) and civil societies and community networks to ensure that social protection interventions address the deep experiences of persons living with HIV.
UNAIDS Country Director- Ghana, Mr. Hector Sucilla Perez, said the roadmap provided Ghana with a compass to navigate a difficult global financial landscape where international assistance for HIV was declining while demand for treatment, prevention and social protection continued to grow.
“Sustainability is not only about money. It is about ownership—making strategic choices to integrate HIV into national priorities, to protect vulnerable populations, and to make every cedi count,” he said.
Mr Perez said the document aligned with Ghana’s broader political priorities and the Accra Reset initiative, which call for bold and innovative approaches to financing health and development.
He stressed that sustainable financing must ensure continued access to testing, treatment, care, and prevention, noting the importance of adopting new innovations such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with lenacapavir.
Ghana faces a generalized HIV epidemic, with an estimated 334,000 people living with HIV in 2023 at a 1.53 per cent prevalence among adults aged 15-49
Data from GAC shows that in 2024, the total number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Ghana is estimated at 334,721, which includes 18,229 children less than 15 years old and 316,492 adults aged 15 years old and above.
Presently, annual new infections have declined from 21,000 in 2020 to 18,000 in 2023 to 15,290 in 2024.
Current treatment cascade results stand at 67-69-89 in 2023 to 68-69-90 in 2024, still leaving significant gaps in diagnosis and treatment initiation.
Ghana’s HIV response has long relied on donor support with 60 per cent of funding from international partners such as the Global Fund and PEPFAR.
However, external financing is expected to decline given the recent cut in aid, further exposing Ghana’s $590 million funding gap between 2023 and 2030.
Stakeholders say meeting the 2030 targets will require approximately $258 million annually by the end of 2030, more than double current funding levels.
GNA
