A report from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that more than 70% of both males and females aged 15 to 49, who are aware of HIV, hold discriminatory attitudes towards those living with the virus.

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These attitudes include beliefs such as HIV-positive children should not attend school with HIV-negative children, or that they would avoid buying fresh vegetables from a shopkeeper living with HIV.

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The GSS released these findings on International Zero Discrimination Day, observed on 1st March 2024 under the theme “Save lives: Decriminalise”.

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The report also highlighted that nationally, nearly eight in every 10 females (78.4%) and seven in every 10 males (72.1%) aged 15 to 49, who are aware of HIV, exhibit discriminatory attitudes towards those living with the virus.

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“Nationally, almost eight in every 10 (78.4%) females and seven in every 10 (72.1%) males aged 15-49 who have heard about HIV have discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV. The percentage with discriminatory attitudes is higher in rural areas (85.5% for females and 78.1% for males) compared to urban (73.4% for females and 67.3% of males).”

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The report also indicated that the prevalence of discriminatory attitudes is higher in rural areas, with 85.5% of females and 78.1% of males aged 15 to 49 exhibiting such attitudes, compared to urban areas where 73.4% of females and 67.3% of males hold discriminatory views towards those living with HIV.

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“The percentage with discriminatory attitudes is higher in rural areas (85.5% for females and 78.1% for males) compared to urban (73.4% for females and 67.3% of males).”

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According to the GSS report, the Ahafo region has the highest percentage of individuals who discriminate against people living with HIV, at 87%. This is followed by the Savannah region at 86.8%, and the Oti region at 86.4%.

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“Among females aged 15 to 49 in eight regions – Ahafo (87.0%), Savannah (86.8%), Oti (86.4), North East (85.9%), Northern (85.7%), Upper West (83.8%), Western North (84.4%) and Upper East (80.1%) – over four in five have discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV.

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“In comparison, three regions – North East (85.2%), Northern (83.1%) and Oti (81.5%) – have more than four in five males aged 15-49 with discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV,” GSS’s stated in its report.

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The report highlighted that individuals with higher levels of education are less likely to exhibit discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV compared to those with no education.

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“The percentage of individuals with discriminatory attitudes who have no education is more than twice that of individuals with secondary education or more. Among females aged 15-49, discriminatory attitudes range from 91.5% for those with no education, decreasing through primary (89.3%), and secondary (78.9%) to more than secondary (44.8%).

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“Among males aged 15-49 with no education, 90.0% exhibit discriminatory attitudes, compared to 86.8% for those with primary education, 73.6% for secondary education, and 43.4% among those with secondary or more education.”

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