The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has said despite progress made in the HIV fight in the country, the disease still remains a public health concern.

He has, therefore, called on the media to help with continuous public education, accurate reporting and responsible storytelling about the disease in order to enhance people’s understanding, offer them the right information to protect themselves and to support those affected by HIV.

The Director, Technical Services of the Commission, Dr Fred Nana Poku, who said this on behalf of the Director General of the Commission, Dr Kharmacelle Prosper Akanbong, at the inauguration of the commission’s media corps in Accra last Friday, said the media had an important role to play in addressing stigma and discrimination, which continued to be barriers to prevention and treatment, adding that the media played a critical role in shaping public understanding, attitudes, and behaviours.

He commended journalists across the country for contributing significantly to raising awareness of HIV, promoting prevention and encouraging people to access treatment, care and support for various HIV interventions.

He said their voices and platforms had helped to bring important issues to the attention of the public and decision-makers.

Media partnership

On the media corps, Dr Akanbong said the purpose was to build a strong network of committed journalists and media personnel who would work closely with the commission to promote consistent, accurate and impactful reporting on HIV and related issues.

He explained that through the media corps, they hoped to strengthen collaboration between the media, provide members with timely information and technical updates and support capacity-building opportunities that would enhance reporting on HIV.

“We believe that the platform will help amplify evidence-based messages, highlight community realities, and promote conversations that encourage empathy, understanding, and responsible behaviour,” he added.

He said the commission deeply valued its partnership with the media and together, they could ensure that accurate information remained in every corner of the country and that the national response to HIV remained strong and inclusive.

In an overview of the national response to HIV in the country, Dr Nana Poku said females were disproportionately affected with HIV in the country than men, adding that about two-thirds of all the cases were found in females.

Reasons

He gave the reasons to be socioeconomic, biological and physiological, explaining that in relation to biological, because the mucosal membrane of the vagina was big, it was prone to bruises during sex and that facilitated the easier entry of the virus.

“For the males, it is just the meatus, the tip where the urine comes from, and the lining that goes in there.

It's also a small space compared to the area of the vagina.

So it's a little more difficult for it to enter, and they don't experience many bruises and cuts in exchange of blood when it comes to traumatic sex.

So that is one of the biological reasons,” he explained.

Dr Nana Poku added that ladies did not have the power to negotiate for safer sex, explaining that sometimes it becomes very difficult for them to ask for condoms.

Added to these, he said, was gender-based violence, which also fuelled the transmission.

He mentioned challenges in the HIV fight to include funding, stigma and discrimination; sociocultural norms and low treatment coverage.