As Ghana marks 40 years of the HIV epidemic arriving on its shores, the Ghana AIDS Commission is stepping up efforts to improve access to HIV testing facilities and kits and treatment protocols, as well as lifesaving drugs to the people who most need them in the country.

Speaking at the launch of World AIDS Day 2026 under the theme, ‘Ending AIDS starts with access,’ Director General of the GAC, Dr Kharmacelle Prosper Akanbong, said the Commission will continue to innovate with its stakeholders improve access to prevention measure that meets people where they are.

Considering that unprotected sex, relationships with multiple partners, low condom youth and transactional sex remain the main drivers of the disease, Dr Akanbong said the Commission will keep on providing access to condom, as well as pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis as well as comprehensive information about HIV to to the nation’s youth.

In order to bring services closer to the vulnerable, the Commission, he said is working to increase the number of antiretroviral (ARV) sites while equipping strategically located health facilities with viral load machines.

Dr Akanbong said, “It is our hope that no Ghanaian will travel hours or face discrimination to collect ARVs.”

He also appealed to government, private sector and Ghanaians in general to contribute towards the HIV/AIDS fund, which suffered and 18% shortfall in global funding last year.

The Director General urged the citizenry to find out the HIV status, and access treatment if they find out they have acquired the virus.

The Chairman of the GAC board of directors, Kakra Essamuah, reflecting on the theme said, “the tools and knowledge to prevent and manage HIV can only make a difference if people can actually access them.”

He continued, “it means people can test for HIV without fear of discrimination. It mans those who test positive are linked promptly to treatment,care and support. It also means access to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), and other appropriate prevention options, particularly for people in communities who may face greater barriers to services.”

He acknowledged that Ghana has made significant progress in its HIV response, with knowledge about HIV improving in commensurate fashion, while treatment has also advanced.

Kakra Essamuah cautioned against complacency as a result of this progress, saying, “40 years of progress must not lead to 40 years of complacency. If we are to end AIDS, prevention must once again take centre stage.”

He therefore called for more public education, especially among young people who in recent times have expressed greater fear of pregnancy than the disease, and the promotion of responsible choices as well as the encouragement of testing.

He also called for an end to stigma and discrimination and the inequalities and barriers that impede access to services.

“No one should avoid an HIV test because of the fear of being stigmatised or judged. No one living with HIV should be denied dignity, opportunity or quality healthcare, and no community should be left behind because they are hard to reach.”

Programme Manager at the National AIDS Control Programme, Dr. Emmanuel Teviu, observed that the existence of a tool does not guarantee access.”

He went further to say that “the true test of our health system is no longer what medicine can achieve in a laboratory, but who is able, allowed and supported to reach it.”

He stressed that if Ghana is to achieve its goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, then access cannot remain a privilege, but an absolute baseline. To achieve this goal he said healthcare services must be made local, and accessible.

To achieve this, he said, “we must decentralise and integrate HIV services into primary healthcare structure, ensuring that prevention, testing and treatment are available right where people live at little or no cost.”

He also called for an aggressive approach towards dismantling stigma, discrimination and policy bottlenecks within the health sector, thus making our health facilities safe haven for all.

To reach as many people as need HIV services, Dr Teviu called for the empowerment of community-led organisations who are able to reach the most remote communities which the regular public health system fails to reach.