The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, appeared before Parliament’s Government Assurance Committee on Tuesday, July 7, to answer questions on assurances he made in Parliament regarding policies and programmes of the ministry.

During the engagement, he revealed that results from the mandatory medical screening exercise for security service recruitment applicants showed that 1,300 out of the over 100,000 applicants tested positive for HIV.

In response, the Chairperson of the Committee and former Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, urged the minister to reach out to the affected applicants, inform them of their status, provide counselling, and encourage them to seek early treatment.

“Please, find a way of reaching out to these people as the number is huge and scary,” Mr Nitiwul said.

He explained that such an intervention would help protect the lives of the affected applicants and prevent further transmission of the virus.

Drawing from a similar experience during his tenure as Defence Minister, Mr Nitiwul said the recommendation was necessary to save lives, noting that early treatment and proper management could enable persons living with HIV to lead normal lives.

“We called them, counselled them and told them, and you must do that too. Because trust me, if it is a boy, he may have a girlfriend, and if it is a girl, she may have a boyfriend, and if they are not aware, trust me, the next time this 1,300 figure will jump to 10,000 or 20,000,” he said.

“So you have to find a way of assuring them so that they can treat themselves because getting HIV is not the same as getting AIDS,” he added.

Applicants yet to be contacted

Mr Muntaka’s response followed a question from a member of the committee and MP for Ahanta West, Mavis Kuukua Bissue, who sought to know whether applicants who tested positive for HIV or had drug-related concerns had been contacted for counselling and medical support.

The minister explained that the applicants had not been contacted yet, as his outfit intended to do so after completing preparations to provide proper counselling.

He noted that such news could be emotionally distressing for individuals and that the ministry was taking steps to avoid causing unnecessary psychological stress.

According to Mr Muntaka, a contact had instead been provided to allow affected applicants to voluntarily reach out and receive the necessary guidance before being informed of their results.

He said the approach was in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, which recommend that certain medical results, including HIV and hepatitis B diagnoses, should be disclosed with appropriate counselling and support.

“You just do not throw it on a person's face that you have hepatitis B and you have HIV,” Mr Muntaka said.

Muntaka responds to Nitiwul’s counsel

Mr Muntaka described Mr Nitiwul’s advice as “very useful” and agreed that the matter was a public health concern.

He assured the committee that the ministry would take steps to support those affected.

“Yes, you are right because this is a public health issue, and it is something that we should not gloss over because it will lead to many innocent people getting it. So, advice is well taken, and I assure you that we will try what we can to help, especially those with HIV, as it is a public health risk,” he said.