Ghana spent $323.7 million on HIV/AIDS-related initiatives during the previous three years, according to data from the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC).
For the years 2019, 2020, and 2021, the total cost associated with HIV/AIDS was $88,648,568, $107,280,242, and $127,828,300, respectively.
The monies for each respective year were the total contribution given by the government, the business sector, and the international community, according to Dr. Kyeremeh Atuahene, Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission.
Read Also: How to apply for amazing low-interest loans
Start-Up Guide for Online Businesses
At the release and distribution of the National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) report for 2019, 2020, and 2021, Dr. Atuahene said this.
NASA outlines the cash flow, real disbursements, and expenses for HIV/AIDS programs. It is an extensive and systemic resource-tracking tool.
In addition to detecting and filling funding shortages, it describes the HIV/AIDS money flow and expenditures for both health and non-health activities during the period given.
The study focuses on three areas: funding, provision, and consumption. It also includes general projections of what the public, private, and foreign contributors will spend on the country’s HIV and AIDS response.
The Director General outlined how NASA 2019–2021 findings also demonstrate a similar pattern of overdependence on foreign funding for the country’s HIV response.
As the nation worked to address the intricate discrepancies in resource distribution, he said it was important to utilize the study as a vehicle for lobbying to reprioritize HIV funding.
“We all have a role to play in establishing how we bring quality into the routine operations of the national response,” stated Dr. Atuhene.
Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, the Executive Oversight Minister for GAC and Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, praised the NASA steering group for providing technical assistance for the exercise while releasing the report.
He pleaded with the Commission to keep in touch with the government, aid organizations, and all other multisectoral participants in the national response.
According to Dr. Afriyie, this would assist in raising the necessary cash to support the implementation of the National Strategic Plan for 2021–2025, which will enable the country to reach its goals and put an end to the AIDS pandemic by 2030.
Even though the amount of money for HIV was rising in the years under review, the GAC Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, Mr. Emmanuel Tetteh Larbi, indicated in a highlight of the report that HIV expenditure exceeded the expected resources.
He said that according to the research, Ghana’s HIV response was primarily reliant on foreign funding, with HIV care and treatment accounting for the biggest portion of HIV finance, followed by program enablers, health systems strengthening, and HIV prevention.
Mr. Larbi urged for the mobilization of local resources, institutionalized routine HIV/AIDS resource tracking, and the encouragement of creative strategies to reach important groups.
The UNAIDS Country Director’s representative, Mrs. Cynthia Adobea Asante, praised the GAC for the report and promised to keep working to safeguard the weak and marginalized.
