Ghana needs $300m annually to achieve HIV/AIDS elimination target by 2030 – D-G of AIDS Commission

Ghana needs $300 million annually to achieve its HIV/AIDS elimination target by 2030.

The Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene who spoke to Sarah Apenkroh on the sidelines of the dissemination of the National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) said, it will take 50 more years for the country to achieve its targets with the current inflows.

The Commission expended over $126 million in 2022, representing a 1% decrease of $127million in the previous year 2021.

Donor funds accounted for 43% of this figure with government providing the remaining $51million. The Private sector also donated $20million. Treatment, care, and support accounted for the largest share of the expenditure while development and research received the least of funds.

According to Dr. Kyeremeh Atuahene, the Commission is working on some funding analysis to address the gap.

“The analysis clearly shows that from now till the year 2030, donor funding may not rise. This points to the fact that government’s contribution to the program must increase significantly. Annually, $300 million for the AIDs program alone. And so, if we must have that amount of money, then we’ll be able to achieve the target. Otherwise, it will take us, if the status quo as it must remain now, it will take us more than 50 years to even achieve those targets,” he said.

The UNAIDS Country Director, Hector Sucilla Perez encouraged government to mobilize domestic resources to fund the programme.

“We need to reflect that Ghana still heavily depends on donor support and while we are happy to partner it to change the narrative, we appeal to all multisector partners to continue exploring innovative ways to mobilize domestic sustainable funding resources,” he suggested.

The National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA), is a comprehensive and systematic resource tracking method that describes the financial flow, actual disbursement and expenditures for HIV/AIDS in Ghana.

As of 2023, Ghana has 334,095 people living with HIV/AIDS. The figure includes 17,550 children under the age of 15.

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