Stigma surrounding HIV is discouraging people from accessing prevention, testing, treatment, and support services, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has warned.

The Director-General of the Commission, Dr Kharmacelle Prosper Akanbong, said misconceptions linking HIV infection automatically to promiscuity continue to influence how people living with the virus are treated.

Speaking on Konsulting Room 5 on JoyNews, Dr Akanbong said such perceptions were not only unfair but were also undermining efforts to control HIV infections in Ghana.

“It is society's perception of how HIV is contracted that makes people begin to look at you as promiscuous. It is that kind of societal perception that you must be a bad person to have HIV,” he said.

Dr Akanbong stressed that HIV can be acquired through different routes, including sexual transmission and the sharing of needles or other equipment contaminated with infected blood.

He said even when HIV is sexually transmitted, the infection should not be used as a basis for judging a person's character.

“Even very good people also have sex,” he said, stressing that sexual activity should not automatically be equated with promiscuity.

According to him, the fear of being judged can discourage people from using services that help prevent HIV transmission.

He cited situations where some people, particularly young people, may feel uncomfortable purchasing condoms because they fear being judged by others.

“That is a kind of stigma that makes people stay away, even from the services that are supposed to prevent the disease,” he said.

Dr Akanbong also warned that stigma can cause people living with HIV to conceal their status and delay seeking medical care and other forms of support.

He said some people initially turn to religious leaders for assistance because they are uncomfortable disclosing their status to health professionals or other people.

Such delays, he cautioned, can have serious consequences for their health.

“Before they actually take the step to come to medical treatment, the disease has consumed much of their strength and effort,” he said.

Dr Akanbong called for a change in public attitudes towards HIV, stressing that people living with the virus should not be socially excluded because of their status.

He said reducing stigma and discrimination was important not only for protecting the dignity of people living with HIV but also for encouraging more people to access services that can help prevent new infections and support those already living with the virus.

The Ghana AIDS Commission has repeatedly identified stigma and discrimination as significant challenges in Ghana's HIV response, as misconceptions about the virus continue to affect people's willingness to seek prevention, testing and treatment services.