Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfPro8): Abstract 12 | Published: 05 Oct 2026
Ephrem Eibinse Akunzule1,2,&, Irene Amedzro3
1Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (GFELTP), Accra, Ghana; 2Ghana Poultry Network, Accra, Ghana; 3Public Health Laboratory, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Ephrem Eibinse Akunzule, Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (GFELTP), Accra, Ghana, Email: ephremakunzule@gmail.com
Received: 11 Mar 2026, Accepted: 29 Aug 2026, Published: 05 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: HIV surveillance; DHIMS2; Greater Accra Region; HIV testing; positivity rate
©Ephrem Eibinse Akunzule et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Ephrem Eibinse Akunzuleu et al., Epidemiological characterization of HIV testing and case detection in Greater Accra Region, Ghana, 2020–2024. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfPro8):12. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO8-0012
Between 2020 and 2024, 746,163 people were tested for HIV, yielding 47,742 positive results. Of these, 41,293 (86.5%) were newly diagnosed cases and 6,449 (13.5%) were previously known positives. Females formed 60.9% of those tested and 62.7% of new diagnoses. Persons aged 25–49 years accounted for 66.2% of new diagnoses. Overall HIV positivity declined from 8.1% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2024, while new diagnosis yield decreased from 7.2% to 4.3%. Testing coverage increased from 2.3% to 3.1%. The new HIV diagnosis rate declined from 163.0 to 134.6 per 100,000 population. Ashaiman contributed 7.4% of all new diagnoses and recorded a sharp increase from 379 cases in 2020 to 1,217 in 2021.
HIV is still an important public health problem in Greater Accra. The burden differs by district, year, sex and age. Testing increased while positivity reduced, showing good progress. However, testing coverage remains low. HIV testing and prevention should target districts and groups with higher positivity rates. Ashaiman needs further investigation because of its high yield. Index testing should be strengthened among adults aged 40 years and above. PMTCT services should be reviewed to reduce HIV infections among children, and male testing outreach should be sustained.
Menu