The Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive, Roland Atanga Ayoo, has described HIV/AIDS as a serious concern to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly, assuring that the Assembly will continue to collaborate with the Ghana Health Service and provide financial and other forms of support to help reduce the rate of infections in the Municipality.
He commended residents who voluntarily present themselves to health facilities to know their HIV status, stressing that knowing one’s status enables individuals to make informed decisions about their health.
“Those who know their status will also know the direction to go and if they are tested positive, that is not the end of life, there are drugs you will take to sustain your life,” he said.
The MCE was speaking on Thursday, August 20, at the Bolgatanga Main Lorry Station, where he launched a number of HIV/AIDS public awareness radio jingles produced by the Assembly and the Municipal Health Directorate as part of efforts to reduce the rising number of HIV infections in the Municipality.
Ayoo also urged the youth to avoid extravagant lifestyles driven by peer pressure, warning that such lifestyles could expose them to risky sexual behaviours, including engaging in transactional sex with multiple partners.
The Bolgatanga Municipal Health Director, Alhaji Alhassan Lawal, disclosed that available records indicate a rising trend in HIV infections in the Municipality, with 157 new infections recorded in the first half of 2026, compared with 155 cases during the same period in 2025.
He explained that Bolgatanga remains one of the HIV infection hotspots in the region due to its metropolitan nature and its position as the commercial and administrative centre of the Upper East Region.
According to him, public sensitisation on HIV/AIDS had declined for some time, contributing to the worrying trend in infections.
Alhaji Lawal therefore called on stakeholders, including the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly, the media and health-sector non-governmental organisations, to intensify public education on HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, treatment and management.
He stressed the importance of voluntary HIV testing, noting that infected persons may not immediately show signs or symptoms of the virus.
He said knowing one’s HIV status would enable individuals to take precautionary measures and seek early treatment and management to help prevent the virus from multiplying in the body and progressing to AIDS.
The Health Director commended the Municipal Chief Executive and the management of the Assembly for supporting the Municipal Health Directorate in producing and launching the HIV/AIDS campaign jingles, and expressed hope that the partnership would continue.
Alhaji Lawal further advised the youth against the rampant use of emergency contraceptives, explaining that while they may help prevent unwanted pregnancies, they do not protect against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
He instead encouraged sexually active persons to use condoms, which he said provide protection against both unwanted pregnancies and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.
Mike 105.3FM I Navrongo | David Adapuna
