The programme manager of the National Aids Control Programme, Dr. Ayisi Addo, has revealed that 70,000 resident of Accra have already purchased the HIV self-testing kits since its introduction one month ago.
Just one month after they were made available, over 70,000 people in Accra have used the HIV self-testing kits. On July 21, 2023, the self-testing kit was released, and since then, the number of requests from the community has increased from 33,000 to over 70,000.
More than 11,000 requests have been made online, and Dr. Ayisi Addo said the distribution of HIV test kits is ongoing throughout the country. Despite the many efforts to reduce the number of new HIV/AIDS infections, Dr. Ayisi Addo expressed concern about the way in which new infections are recorded in an interview with GNA.
“We have been doing all these things, and yet in 2022, by the end of that year, 354,000 people were estimated to have HIV, while still picking up a little over 16,000 new infections,” he said.
On this note, the doctor pleaded with Ghanaians to accept and embrace the HIV self-testing kit in an effort to reduce the alarming numbers.
“I am appealing to Ghanaians to embrace this new game changer. We have come very far from a state where one would have to go to a laboratory, which takes like two to three weeks to produce the results, to now self-testing in the privacy and comfort of the individual,” he added.
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