{
  "id": 17915454,
  "title": "GAC raises concern over declining condom use, HIV stigma",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/gac-raises-concern-over-declining-condom-use-hiv-stigma",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-11-03T05:08:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/gac-raises-concern-over-declining-condom-use-hiv-stigma/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has raised alarm over a decline in condom use and the persistence of HIV stigma, which threaten the country's efforts to control the epidemic. Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Isaiah Doe Kwao stated that these trends could undermine progress in reducing new HIV infections and achieving the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Kwao highlighted data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) showing a steady drop in condom use among adults engaging in higher-risk sexual activity. Among men aged 15 to 49, condom use fell from 49% in 2003 to 27.4% in 2022, while among women, it dropped from 29% in 2003 to 10.6% in 2022. Additionally, the survey revealed an increase in higher-risk sexual behavior among both men and women over the same period. The GAC emphasized that the combined effect of declining condom use and rising higher-risk sexual behavior poses a significant challenge for HIV prevention efforts in Ghana. Moreover, the survey found that 78% of women and 72% of men who had heard of HIV or AIDS held discriminatory attitudes, with 61% of women and 56% of men opposing the idea of children living with HIV attending school with HIV-negative children, and 74% of women and 65% of men unwilling to buy fresh vegetables from a shopkeeper known to be living with HIV.",
  "summary": "The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) says declining condom use among adults engaging in higher-risk sex and persistent discrimination against people living with HIV are threatening Ghana’s efforts to control the epidemic.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}