Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director General of the GHS, said the yearlong festivity to be celebrated at both national and regional levels, would highlight the benefits of ART including Undetectable =Untransmissible (U=U), the need for the general population to support persons living with HIV (PLHIV) and Ghana's treatment programme.
U=U is a prevention method estimated to be 100 per cent effective as long as the persons living with HIV take their medication as prescribed and get indetectable.

The DG revealed this in a speech read on his behalf at the launch of the 2023 World AIDS Day organised by the Ghana AIDS Commission on the theme; "Let Communities Lead".

ART for the past 20 years has saved the lives of thousands of Ghanaians, who otherwise would have suffered untimely deaths, increasing the number of persons on ART from 9,790 in 2020 to 13,539 in 2022..

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said Ghana had a robust programme targeted at key populations, however, the prevention component of the national response for the population continued to receive limited attention.

He said the differentiated testing and treatment was firmly established, but there were gaps in commodity security and procurement supply chain management.

He said more than 300,000 persons had been initiated on ART since 2003 when the programme started in Ghana adding that about half of the number had been lost to follow-up due to treatment discontinuation or death.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said it was due to those challenges and the existing opportunities that the ART celebration was launched.

He said there would also be dialogue on sustainable commodity financing and related programme implementation.

"We will ensure that the communities take the lead in this initiative to tell their own success story and engage the public with practical issues to strengthen our resolve to eliminate HIV stigma and discrimination once and for all," he added

World AIDS Day is commemorated on December 1, annually, however, this year's celebration would be marked on November 30 because December 1, 2023, is a public holiday.

World AIDS Day is a global event to unite people in response to HIV and AIDS, provides an opportunity to raise awareness and demonstrate solidarity with persons living with, and affected by HIV, as well as those who have died from AIDS-related causes.

Dr Kyereme Atuahene, the Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, speaking at the launch called for an urgent need to close the huge funding gaps in the treatment of HIV and AIDS in the country.

He said for the last two decades, donor funding for HIV and AIDS response in the county had reduced from 75 to 33 per cent, creating huge funding gaps, adding that the gap must be filled domestically in order not to reverse the progress made.

Dr Atuahene noted that this year's celebration would see communities at the forefront of HIV activities during the month of November dubbed "Red Ribbon Month".

"This will include radio and television interviews, interactive education sessions and digital poster dissemination on social media platforms and other digital channels to sensitise Ghanaians about the benefits of HIV self-testing, treatment, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission services," he stated.

He said there would also be national and regional condom activation and sensitisation, free HIV testing and counselling services across the country, interaction with religious groups, as well as the launch of the National HIV and AIDS Fund.

Dr Atuahene said ending AIDS by 2030 required a collective response and encouraged all community members to continue to work to sustain efforts to drive down HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths among all populations.