The President of the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET), Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin, has appealed to the government to make a dedicated budgetary allocation to the National HIV and AIDS Fund in the upcoming 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, expected to be presented to Parliament on November 13, 2025.
According to him, although the Fund was established in 2016, it has never been operationalized, leaving Ghana’s HIV and AIDS response efforts constrained by inadequate resources.
“When the Fund was first announced in 2016, there were plans to activate it, but after the change of administration in 2017, progress stalled,” Mr. Ortsin said. “We have consistently appealed for its continuation, but nearly a decade later, we are still without it. Without the Fund, achieving the goal of ending AIDS by 2030 will remain out of reach.”
Speaking at the launch of the 2025 World AIDS Day in Accra, Mr. Ortsin stressed that dedicated funding is crucial for sustaining interventions aimed at prevention, testing, and treatment. He called on government to allocate at least $100 million to the Fund, describing it as a lifeline for those living with HIV and a key step toward eradicating the disease.
“Civil society groups and persons living with HIV will be encouraged if next week’s budget shows even a reflection of support — a hundred million dollars for the AIDS Fund will make a difference,” he stated.
Mr. Ortsin warned that the absence of sustained funding is already taking a toll on Ghana’s HIV response, noting that an estimated 13,000 people die each year from the disease — a total of about 130,000 lives lost in the last decade.
He clarified that the recent decline in HIV prevalence from 1.7% to 1.4% should not be mistaken for progress, emphasizing that the drop reflects higher mortality, not improved prevention or treatment.
“We cannot celebrate a lower prevalence rate when it’s driven by deaths rather than successful interventions,” he said. “The lack of resources is causing preventable losses.”
The GHANET President reiterated that a fully operational National HIV and AIDS Fund is critical to accelerating progress toward the 2030 elimination target, strengthening health systems, and ensuring equitable care.
The Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Khamacelle Prosper Akanbong, echoed similar concerns, highlighting that this year’s World AIDS Day theme, “Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response,” reflects the urgency of maintaining strong financial and institutional support in the face of limited global and domestic resources.