Ghana is making strong progress in treating and suppressing HIV, but the country continues to face a major challenge in identifying people who are living with the virus but do not know their status.
The latest National HIV Estimates and Projections show that only 68 per cent of people living with HIV in Ghana know their status, leaving nearly one in three undiagnosed.
The figures indicate that approximately 334,721 people were living with HIV in 2025, but only 227,593 were aware of their status.
Dr Kharmacelle Akanbong, Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), described the low diagnosis rate as the weakest point in the country’s HIV response.
He was speaking at the dissemination of the HIV Estimates and Projections in Accra on Monday.
Dr Akanbong said HIV testing remained the entry point to treatment and care because people could only access life-saving medication after learning their status.
He said Ghana had made significant progress in treatment and viral suppression but needed to expand testing if it was to achieve the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets by 2030.
The targets require 95 per cent of people living with HIV to know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed to receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 95 per cent of those on treatment to achieve viral suppression.
Mr Isaiah Doe Kwao, Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the GAC, said of the 227,593 people who knew their HIV status, 156,821, representing 69 per cent, were receiving antiretroviral therapy.
Of those on treatment, 140,357 people had achieved viral suppression, representing 90 per cent.
“The figures translate into Ghana’s current treatment cascade of 68-69-90,” Mr Kwao said, adding that significant gaps remained in diagnosis and treatment coverage.
He explained that viral suppression was a critical measure of treatment success because people with an undetectable viral load could remain healthy and, when they consistently adhered to treatment, would not sexually transmit the virus.
The estimates show improvements in the country’s capacity to monitor treatment outcomes.
The number of people on HIV treatment who underwent viral load testing increased from 54,538 in 2018 to 125,051 in 2025.
Those who achieved viral suppression also more than tripled from 36,226 in 2018 to 114,956 in 2025.
The improvements were attributed to better treatment adherence, expanded laboratory capacity and stronger patient follow-up.
However, significant gender and age disparities remain in the treatment cascade.
Among adult women living with HIV, 79 per cent know their status, 82 per cent are receiving treatment and 93 per cent have achieved viral suppression.
For adult men, the corresponding figures are 57 per cent, 76 per cent and 91 per cent.
Children remain the most vulnerable group in terms of diagnosis, with only 46 per cent of children living with HIV estimated to know their status.
However, among those diagnosed, 87 per cent are receiving treatment and 81 per cent have achieved viral suppression.
The GAC attributed the low diagnosis rate among children partly to missed opportunities for early infant diagnosis.
The Commission called for intensified efforts to identify children living with HIV at an early stage and link them promptly to treatment.
It also urged the public to embrace HIV testing, stressing that early diagnosis allows people to begin treatment sooner, live longer and healthier lives and prevent further transmission.
The Commission said Ghana could achieve epidemic control if more people tested voluntarily, remained on treatment and achieved sustained viral suppression, while continued efforts were made to eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with HIV.
