BY Grace Zigah
The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) has announced a renewed and more aggressive national response strategy following the impressive participation in the 2025 International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (#ICASA2025).
The conference, hosted in Accra, marked a pivotal moment for Ghana’s HIV response, drawing global experts, policymakers, and civil society leaders to deliberate on the future of the epidemic.
Ghana, which has spent the past decade restructuring its HIV response amid resource constraints and rising infections among the youth, saw the event as both a learning opportunity and a platform to showcase its progress.
Speaking after the conference, Programme Manager of NACP, Dr. Emmanuel Teviu, described the gathering as one of the most impactful global health events Ghana has hosted.
He said ICASA served as a “transformative platform” that accelerated conversations on innovation, global partnerships, and evidence-based interventions to control the epidemic.
Dr. Teviu, who has steered NACP’s agenda through a period of shifting donor support and increasing demand for decentralised care, noted that the conference reaffirmed the urgent need for Ghana to intensify its efforts.
“The evidence and discussions here have made one thing clear: we must integrate our national response more aggressively,” he said.
In outlining the immediate post-ICASA priorities, Dr. Teviu announced a renewed push for expanded HIV testing, especially targeted screening within high-risk groups and communities with low testing uptake.
A key focus, he emphasized, is scaling up prevention interventions for adolescents and young adults aged 15–24, a demographic that consistently accounts for a significant share of new infections.
He also underscored the need for people-centered, integrated care, stating that HIV services must be fully woven into all levels of the health system—from community health planning zones to tertiary hospitals—to ensure continuity, reduce stigma, and strengthen treatment adherence.
