The Ghana AIDS Commission attributes the increasing cases of HIV in the country to the reckless lifestyle of young people.
According to the Commission, people between the ages of 15 and 24 often engage in high-risk unprotected sex, contributing to the rising cases of HIV in the country.
Speaking to JoyNews, the Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Steve Kyeremeh Atuahene, explained that most of these young people are getting infected because they live recklessly with little concern for their health.
“Young people are getting infected. Between 2010 and 2016 new infections among young people aged 24 and younger increased by 45%.
“The reason for this is the fact that they are not taking responsibility for their lives. This statement is supported by the findings of the 2014 Demographic and Health Survey report, which clearly shows that young people take a lot of risks that expose them to HIV infections but do not protect themselves.
“Protection, in this context, involves the use of condoms during high-risk sexual encounters. Knowledge of HIV prevention is also quite low among young people,” he said.
His comments follow the latest Demographic and Health Survey report by the Ghana AIDS Commission which reveals that over 45,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are HIV positive.
Overall, over 355,000 Ghanaians are living with the disease, with 100,000 who tested positive previously unaware of their status.
Females account for almost 240,000 cases, while males account for close to 115,000 infections.
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