Ghana AIDS Commission

Ghana AIDS Commission

Agency overview
Formed	2016 (2016)
Jurisdiction	Government of Ghana

The Ghana AIDS Commission is a supra-ministerial and multi-sectorial body in Ghana. It was established by Act 2016, Act 938 of the Parliament of Ghana. It consists of 47 members including the President and the Vice President, 15 Ministers of State and two members of the Parliament.

The Commission works within a wider national response involving government institutions, health agencies, civil society organisations, development partners, communities and other stakeholders. The multisectoral approach recognises that HIV and AIDS cannot be addressed by the health sector alone.

Mission

The Ghana AIDS Commission aims to establish policies on the HIV and AIDS epidemic. It also directs activities in response to HIV and AIDS in Ghana.

Vision

Their vision is to have an AID-free Ghana all people have access to quality prevention, treatment, care, and support services.

Core values

Ghana AIDS Commission carries values of integrity, accountability, inclusivity, evidence-based decision making, and respect for human right.

Functions

• Formulate policies and strategies on HIV and AIDS and determine program priorities
• Provide high-level advocacy for HIV and AIDS prevention and control
• Provide leadership in national planning, supervision, and support of the HIV and AIDS program
• Plan and coordinate activities in relations to the national HIV and AIDS respnse
• Mobilse, control, and manage resources available for the acheivement of the object of Commission and monitor the alocation and utilisation of the resources
• Foster linkages among stakeholders
• Generate strategic information to influrence policy, strategies, planning, and use of resources
• Promote research and dissemination of information on HIV and AIDS and documentation of persons living with HIV and AIDS
• Monitor and evaluate programs of the national HIV and AIDS response

Legal objectives

The Commission's legal objective is to formulate policy on the HIV and AIDS epidemic, direct and coordinate activities in response to HIV and AIDS. Its mandate therefore goes beyond direct healthcare provision and focuses strongly on national coordination, policy direction and strategic oversight,

History and establishment

The first HIV case in Ghana was recorded in 1986. Responding to the emerging epidemic the National AIDS/STI Control Programme {NACP} was establish in 1987 to lead the national response.

Establishment of the Ghana AIDS Commission

The Ghana AIDS Commission was established in September 2000. Its establishment represented an important development in Ghana's response to HIV and AIDS because it provided a national institutional framework for coordinating a mutisectoral response. The Commission was later given a statutory mandate under the Ghana AIDS Commission Act, 2002 (Act 613). This legal framework was subsequently repealed and replaced by the Ghana AIDS Commission Act, 2016 (Act 938).

Legal framework

The Ghana AIDS Commission operates under the Ghana AIDS Commission, Act 2016 (Act 938). The Act also establishes the Commission as a body corporate, which means that the Commission has a legally recognised institutional identity and can acquire and hold property and enter into contracts and other transactions necessary for performing it functions.

RTI

The Ghana AIDS Commission upholds the constitutional right of every person to access information held by public institutions, in line with the Right To Information Act, 2019, (Act 989). In compliance with the Act, the Ghana AIDS Commission has established a Right To Information desk within the Administrative Division, operated by a designated information officer. However, as stipulated in the Act, access to certain informatiom may be subject to exemptions necessary for protection of public interest.

Exemptions

1. Information relating to the President or Vice President of Ghana
2. Information affecting the security of the state
3. Information relating to cabinet proceedings
4. Personal information
5. Information relating to law enforcement and public safety
6. Information affecting International Relations
7. Information relating to economic and other national interest
8. Information relating to taxation
9. Economic information of third parties
10. Internal working information of public institutions
11. Parliamentary privilege, free trail, and contempt of court matters
12. Privileged information
13. Information whose disclosure is contrary to the protection of public interest

Divisions

• Administrations
• Technical Services
• Policy And Planning Division
• Research, Monitoring, And Evaluation Division
• Finance Division
• Internal Audit Division
• Corporate Affairs
• Legal Unit
• Regional Officers

GAC directors

• Isaac Kwao, Director of Reseach, Monitoring, And Evaluation Division

• Siddique Adbul Moomen, Director of Finance and Administration

• John Eliasu Mahama, Acting Director of Public Policy

• Josephine Oppong-Adusah, Executive Assistant

Focus areas

A public health approach to service delivery

In line with it mandate, the Commission adopts a public health approach in providing a wide range of services to persons infected and affected by HIV, key population, prisons inmate, orphans and vulnerable children and the general population through the community-based system and health system.

National coordination, local delivery

The secretariat of Ghana AIDS Commission is established to provide technical and administrate support to the Commission and its technical committee as the executing/implementing arm of the Commission, it is the focal point for HIV and AIDS policy research, program planning, implementation and monitoring for national, regional and district level activities.

Key programs

Ghana AIDS Commission has six (6) key programs.

HIV Prevention

Comprehensive Prevention programs, including education, condom distribution, and PrEP access across region.

Education & Awareness

To provide leadership and coordination for the implementation of Ghana's National strategic plan on HIV and AIDS.

Testing Services

Free, confidential HIV testing and counseling at health facilities and mobile outreach location nationwide.

PMTCP Programs

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs integrated into maternal and child health services.

Research & Monitoring

Epidemiological surveillance, operational research and monitoring and evaluation of the national response.

Treatment & Care

Ensuring access to antiretroviral therapy and quality healthcare services for all people living with HIV.

Publications

• Ghana's AIDS Commission Act, 2016, (Act 938)
• National HIV AIDS Anti-stigmatation Discrimination strategy 2016-2020
• National HIV AIDS Strategic plan 2021-2025
• National Sub-national HIV and AIDS Estimates and projection 2024 report
• Ghana's HIV Facts Sheets 2024

Interventions (achievement)

Ghana AIDS Commission rom 2012 - 2016 implemented the National Strategic Plan in Volta region to increase HIV awareness among the general public.

In 2024, the Ghana AIDS Commission distributed 35,600 condoms in the Upper West Region as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of HIV. The initiative aligns with Ghana's national strategy to combat HIV/AIDS and promote sexual health awareness in the region.

Ghana recorded a significant reduction in new HIV infection, and AIDS related death, according to 2025 National HIV Estimate and Projections released by the Ghana AIDS Commission. The report shows that new infection declined from 16, 189 in 2024 to 13, 951 in 2025, whiles AIDS related death also reduced from 13, 429 to 12, 051 within the same period, representing nearly a 14% decline.

Current HIV statistic

337,435

People living with HIV in Ghana.

Women account for 65.7% of all people living with HIV, whiles young people (15 - 24 years) contribute 27.5% of new HIV infections. Children between (0 - 14) also contribute 6.5% of the total HIV population.

38

Daily New HIV Infection

On average, about 38 people acquire HIV every day in Ghana, based on an estimated 13,951 new HIV infection in 2025.

70 - 81 - 92

Ghana is working towards USAIDS target, 95% of people knowing their status, 95% diagnosed on treatment, 95% acheiving viral suppression.

HIV in Ghana

• 
  Aufforderung zum HIV-Test bei Studentenprotest Hohoe 2011
• 
  HIV Fair 2012 Accra US Banner
• 
  HIV Fair 2012 Accra GhaSold
• 
  No Sex Signage in Ghana
• 
  World AIDS Day Maamobi Polyclinic Accra

References

15. https://hivpreventioncoalition.unaids.org/en/resources/ghana-aids-commission-national-hiv-and-aids-policy 16. https://ghalii.org/akn/gh/act/2016/938/eng@2016-12-30