In the late 1990s and early 2000s, HIV/AIDS infections were everywhere — on our television screens, in school auditoriums, and in public-service billboards.
The images were stark: people reduced to walking skeletons, emaciated by a disease that was fatal and misunderstood.
For many teenagers of that era, those images were chilling and unforgettable. They changed behaviour. They shaped a generation.
Today, that loud public health drumbeat is gone.
The powerful campaigns that once made HIV real — and frightening — have quieted.
Young people growing up now rarely see reminders of the devastation the disease once caused.
And increasingly, the statistics show that the caution of yesteryear may be fading.
A decade of progress — and a recent upswing
HIV was first identified in the early 1980s, and by the late 1990s, global awareness campaigns had become ubiquitous.
In Ghana, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has coordinated the national response to the epidemic, including prevention, treatment, and education campaigns.
In the early years of the epidemic, both new infections and AIDS-related deaths declined significantly thanks to improved awareness and increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART).
But recent data suggest a worrying trend:
- In 2022, Ghana recorded approximately 16,500 new HIV infections. 
- In 2023, that number rose to about 17,774 new infections. 
- In 2024, Ghana confirmed 15,290 new HIV infections — an average of close to 42 new infections every day — and 12,614 AIDS-related deaths.
These figures indicate that after years of gradual declines, new infections have stalled and, in some age groups, increased, particularly among adolescents and young adults aged 15–25. 
Why are new infections rising?
The Ghana AIDS Commission and health stakeholders have pointed to a complex set of factors behind the recent rise in new infections:
- Risky sexual behaviour and low condom use
Low condom use, especially among youth, remains a central concern.
Public health monitoring shows that protection during sexual encounters is far from universal — a major reason for ongoing transmission. 
- Limited awareness and testing
Although most young people have heard of HIV, many do not test regularly, and many do not know their status — creating silent chains of transmission. 
- Stigma and fear
Stigma continues to discourage testing and open conversations about HIV.
Fear of judgement still prevents many from seeking services, even when they know they may be at risk. 
- Social determinants and vulnerable populations
In some regions and communities, poverty, migration, and environments that facilitate commercial sex work have contributed to heightened risk.
Health officials also note gender disparities, with women and girls disproportionately affected due to social and biological vulnerabilities.
A funding gap widens as awareness fades
Beyond behaviour and social factors, funding constraints have reduced the reach of HIV prevention efforts.
International donors have historically been major supporters of HIV prevention, testing, and education programmes in Ghana and across sub-Saharan Africa.
However, recent global shifts in foreign aid have hit HIV programmes hard:
- Abrupt cuts to international HIV funding — including major contributions from the United States and other traditional donors — have undermined prevention campaigns, community outreach, and education efforts.
- According to the 2025 UNAIDS report Overcoming Disruption: Transforming the AIDS Response, “lack of domestic funding … coupled with declines in donor HIV assistance … has devastated HIV prevention services,” particularly those that rely heavily on external support. 
These financial pressures mean fewer resources for in-school sensitisation programmes, mass media campaigns, community theatre, and youth engagement — the very interventions that once helped shape behaviour decades ago.
A generation that never saw the worst
Many young Ghanaians today have never seen the ravaged bodies once associated with AIDS.
They’ve only seen the afterglow of treatment successes, and that can breed a false sense of security.
Unlike the youth of the early 2000s, who grew up with memorable public health jingles and school talks, today’s teens face a quieter landscape of prevention — and researchers worry that unseen risk can breed complacency.
What must be done: Reviving awareness and action
Stalling awareness must be met with strategic, well-funded interventions:
- Re-energized Multimedia Campaigns
- Launch modern campaigns on TV, radio, social media, and in communities to make HIV prevention visible again — including real stories, data-driven messages, and creative content tailored to young audiences.
- School- and Community-Based Education
- Integrate comprehensive sexual health and HIV education into school curricula, and support extracurricular outreach that goes beyond basic biology to cover relationships, consent, and risk reduction.
- Expanded Condom Access and Promotion
- Ensure condoms are widely available, affordable, and socially normalized — with targeted messaging for youth and vulnerable populations.
- Regular Testing and Reduced Stigma
- Encourage routine HIV testing, including self-testing options, and reduce stigma through community champions and public figures who speak openly about HIV.
- Domestic Financing and Donor Partnerships
- The Ministry of Health, Ghana AIDS Commission, and civil society must mobilize domestic funding to reduce dependence on external donors and ensure sustainable prevention programmes. Simultaneously, renewed engagement with international partners can help fill gaps and preserve essential services.
- Community Engagement and Youth Leadership
- Empower youth organisations, peer support networks, and community groups to lead awareness initiatives — because prevention works best when communities own the message.
Winning or Losing the Fight: The One Metric That Matters
In public health, there is a simple rule:
When new HIV infections are declining, a country is winning the fight.
When new infections are rising, the country is losing.
By that measure, Ghana has been losing ground for the past three years.
According to data from the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC):
- 2022: Approximately 16,500 new HIV infections
- 2023: New infections rose to about 17,700
- 2024: Though slightly lower at 15,290, this still translates to over 42 new infections every single day
These are not victory numbers. They are warning signals.
Health authorities have been clear: the upward trend in recent years is deeply concerning, especially among young people aged 15–29.
This is the age group that grew up after the loud campaigns disappeared — a generation that never saw the worst of AIDS with their own eyes.
When publicity died, recklessness took its place
One of the strongest explanations offered by the Ghana AIDS Commission is blunt and uncomfortable:
People no longer take HIV seriously.
With the decline in sustained publicity and national sensitisation:
- Condom use has dropped.
- HIV testing is irregular.
- Risk perception has collapsed.
HIV has become invisible — and invisibility breeds recklessness.
The Commission has repeatedly pointed to changing sexual and social dynamics driving new infections:
- Transactional sex is rising, fueled by economic hardship.
- Young men deliberately build their bodies in gyms to attract older, financially stable women in exchange for money, gifts, or support.
- Older women (“cougars”) increasingly seek younger men, partly as a reaction to older men pursuing much younger girls.
- The phenomenon of “side-chicks” and multiple concurrent partners has been normalised and even celebrated on social media.
- Some young men now refuse formal work, choosing instead to survive through sexual relationships for income.
These are not moral judgments; they are documented behavioural patterns cited by health authorities as contributing to new infections.
When protection is inconsistent and partners overlap, HIV spreads quietly and efficiently.
COVID, Ukraine, and the Collapse of Donor Funding
As behaviour worsened, funding collapsed.
For decades, Ghana’s HIV response has been heavily supported by international donor funding, including UN agencies and bilateral partners. But the world changed.
- COVID-19 strained global economies.
- The Ukraine war triggered inflation, food insecurity, and fiscal crises worldwide.
- Donor countries turned inward, prioritising domestic survival.
The result?
A sharp decline in funding for HIV prevention, education, and community outreach.
This funding gap has meant:
- Fewer nationwide media campaigns
- Reduced school sensitisation programmes
- Cutbacks in community outreach
- Less funding for condoms, testing, and youth-focused prevention
In simple terms: the system went quiet at the exact moment society became more reckless.
That silence is now costing lives.
A generation that never saw AIDS die
Antiretroviral treatment has been a medical miracle. People living with HIV can now live long, productive lives.
But success has come with an unintended consequence: HIV no longer looks scary.
Many young people have never seen someone die of AIDS.
They have never watched flesh waste away.
They have never felt the fear that once forced caution.
Without reminders, HIV infections feels distant — like history.
But the virus does not care about perception.
This is a national emergency, not a moral debate
Rising new infections mean:
- More lifelong treatment costs
- Greater strain on the health system
- Lost productivity
- Families burdened emotionally and financially
Life is already heavy — work stress, bills, unemployment, survival.
Adding HIV to that burden is an avoidable tragedy.
As the saying in Ga warns:
“Kaa tswa raw by heart” — don’t have sex raw. Be smart. Protect yourself.
What must change — now
To reverse this losing streak, Ghana must act decisively:
- Restore Loud, Sustained Public Campaigns
HIV must return to TV, radio, billboards, and social media — not once a year, but consistently.
- Target Youth and New Sexual Trends
Messaging must address transactional sex, multiple partners, and modern relationship dynamics honestly — not with denial.
- Rebuild School-Based Education
Not token talks, but structured, age-appropriate, continuous sexual health education.
- Close the Funding Gap
Government must increase domestic funding for HIV infections prevention and reduce over-dependence on donors.
- Normalize Testing and Condom Use
Make testing routine. Make condoms accessible and stigma-free.
Conclusion: The virus didn’t leave — We looked away
Ghana is not losing the fight against HIV because science failed.
We are losing because attention faded, funding shrank, and behaviour changed.
New infections are rising. That is the scorecard.
And until that number starts falling again, we are not winning.
The virus did not disappear.
Only the noise did.
And silence, as history has shown us, can be deadly
