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The Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET) has called on the government to activate the National HIV/AIDS Fund to address the funding gap in the health sector caused by the freeze of USAID funding.
The suggestion followed President John Dramani Mahama’s assurance in his 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA) regarding the government’s commitment to addressing the shortfalls from the USAID 90-day funding freeze.
In response to the SONA, GHANET, in a statement signed by its President, Mr. Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin, emphasized the importance of the government considering the operationalization of the National HIV/AIDS Fund to address the funding shortfall.
The Fund, established under the Ghana AIDS Commission Act (Act 938) in October 2016 during the previous Mahama administration, has remained inactive for the past eight years.
GHANET, a key stakeholder in the national HIV and AIDS response since 1996, described the President’s commitment as “reassuring and therapeutic.”
However, the organization argued that activating the HIV/AIDS Fund would help alleviate the impact of the USAID funding freeze.
“This is because ever since the US government placed the USAID stop-work order, there has been pandemonium in the PLHIV (persons living with HIV) community in Ghana.”
High on the country’s PLHIV concern list, the NGO said, was the fear that there might be a stockout of antiretroviral (ARV) medications soon if the government had to take full responsibility for procuring ARVs.
According to data from the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), as of December 2023, the number of PLHIV on treatment stood at about 151,000.
This number is less than half of the estimated 334,000 PLHIV in the country. This means there is a lot of work to be done to find all PLHIV and bring them into care.
“This fear is heightened by recent happenings where even donated ARVs were nonchalantly abandoned at the ports for several months,” GHANET said.
The Network explained that the absence of the Fund had halted the operations of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including mass media campaigns, outreach in academic institutions, local communities, churches, mosques, marketplaces, and lorry stations.
As a result, a new generation of young people has emerged in the past decade with little knowledge or understanding of HIV and AIDS, contributing to a rise in new infections. In 2023 alone, there were 17,700 new infections and 12,500 AIDS-related deaths, the Network reported.
“It is the expectation of GHANET, and all HIV and AIDS stakeholders, that the operationalization of NHAF will make available enough domestic resources to complement what the country currently receives from the Global Fund and other international partners.
“This would ensure that, at all times, the country would be in a position to buy life-saving ART for PLHIVs,” the Network said.
GHANET also proposed the local manufacturing of ART medications and related commodities to reduce reliance on donor support.
Additionally, the Network emphasized the need for the country to assess the feasibility and viability of locally producing HIV-related commodities, including condoms, lubricants, and test kits.
“Fortunately for Ghana, there is already existing capacity for local production of ARTs (since 2005). GHANET believes that the country must leverage this capacity to meet its needs for ARVs,” it stressed.
GHANET appealed to the Ministers for Finance and Health to ensure that the President’s SONA commitment is reflected in the 2025 budget.
The Network urged the country to take steps to fulfill the Abuja Declaration (2001), which calls on African nations to allocate no less than 15 percent of their annual budgets to health.