Low HIV testing among men skews the full picture - Ghana AIDS Commission
AIDS Commission DG Dr Kharmacelle Akanbong says men test for HIV far less often than women, warning this hides the true scale of Ghana's epidemic.
Dr Kharmacelle Akanbong, Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), is urging for greater emphasis on HIV testing among men. Akanbong warns that the persistently low testing rates among men are obscuring the true extent of Ghana's HIV epidemic and leaving numerous undiagnosed cases. Women, on average, conduct HIV tests more frequently than men, which has led to a skewed understanding of the epidemic's true scale.
Men make up the majority of new HIV infections in the general population, and Akanbong emphasizes the need to prioritize men in prevention efforts. Addressing journalists at a Media Capacity Building Session on HIV reporting, Akanbong urged reporters to leverage their platforms to encourage Ghanaians to test, know their HIV status, and commence treatment promptly.
He challenged the media to devote more attention to men in HIV testing and prevention coverage. Akanbong believes closing the testing and treatment gap among men is crucial for Ghana's HIV response, as it could help reduce transmission and enhance overall control of the epidemic. Women constitute roughly 65.7% of all people living with HIV in Ghana, a disparity attributed partly to the wider testing gap between men and women, rather than men being inherently less at risk.
As Ghana strives to maintain a decline in new infections - which dropped from 16,189 cases in 2024 to 13,951 in 2025 - Akanbong's comments highlight the ongoing work to address the imbalance in HIV testing between men and women.
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