New HIV infections are spreading rapidly in the Berekum Municipality of the Bono Region, which has recorded the highest HIV and AIDS prevalence rate of 3.34 percent, according to Mr. Mark Kyeremeh Oppong, the Bono Regional Technical Officer for Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
Citing data from the 2023 HIV and AIDS Sentinel Survey by the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), Mr. Oppong described the situation as alarming. He noted that the Bono Region as a whole is witnessing troubling trends in HIV prevalence.
Mr. Oppong urged sexually active young people to abstain from premarital sex, avoid multiple sexual partners, and, for those unable to abstain, to always practice safe sex by using protection.
He made these remarks at the launch of “Miss Elegance Tertiary Ghana 2025,” a beauty pageant spearheaded by the Reproductive Needs and Fitness (RENEF) Foundation—a health-focused non-governmental organisation.
RENEF is leveraging the 2025 pageant as a platform to raise awareness about reproductive health and promote gender equality. The initiative also encourages tertiary students to voluntarily test and know their HIV status, aiming to reduce the rising number of new infections.
Mr. Oppong expressed concern that the Bono Region has consistently ranked highest in HIV prevalence in Ghana for three consecutive years, emphasizing the need for urgent research to determine the underlying causes of the persistent rise in infections.
Mrs. Abigail Antwi-Baafi, CEO of RENEF, explained that the foundation is using the pageant to intensify its “know your HIV status” campaign, especially targeting tertiary students.
“We aim at tackling health and social needs through entertainment,” she stated, adding that the campaign also supports the Ghana AIDS Commission’s “95-95-95” agenda.
The UNAIDS “95-95-95” initiative aims for 95 percent of people living with HIV to know their status, 95 percent of those diagnosed to be on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 95 percent of those on ART to achieve viral suppression.
As part of the campaign, Mrs. Antwi-Baafi said free condoms would be distributed to promote safe sex and help prevent new HIV infections.
The beauty pageant involves 12 tertiary institutions, including Technical Universities and Colleges of Education, across the country.
