Fact-Check: Claim that more 78,000 men in Ghana contracted HIV in 2021 from other men is false
Claim: 78,450 men in Ghana contracted HIV in 2021 from other men
Source: News article
Verdict: FALSE
Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu
Is it true that “about 78,450 men in Ghana contracted HIV in 2021 from other men?”
That is the claim shared on photo and video sharing social networking service, Instagram by popular Ghanaian actor Prince David Osei on October 6, 2022, to his 1.2 million followers, while suggesting in the comments section that his sources included: “www.reuters.com, www.unaids.org, ghanafact.com, Ghana AIDS Commission.”
A screengrab of a post by Prince David Osei
The claim has since been challenged by a human rights organization, Rightify Ghana, who in a Twitter post described it as a “fake news post,” and alerted GhanaFact to investigate.
A Google search of the claim showed it was first published by a digital news platform associated with a state-owned newspaper, Ghanaian Times and subsequently republished by www.allafrica.com.
According to the news article, the claim was made at a media training workshop organised by the Ghana HIV and AIDs Network, by an official of the National AIDS Control Programme, Kenneth Ayeh Danso – who has since disputed the attribution and dismissed it as inaccurate.
“Mr Danso said per a 2021 HIV/AIDS estimate of about 345,599 persons living with HIV (PLHIVs) in Ghana, 22.7 percent (78,450) were among men who had sex with men (MSM; 18.1 per cent) and female sex workers (FSW; 4.6 per cent),” a part of the online news article reads.
“The 78,450 that was mentioned [in the article], under no circumstance did I make references to that,” Kenneth Ayeh Danso told GhanaFact when the team contacted him for clarification.
“The MSM figure is incorrect,” the Programme Manager at the National AIDS/STI Control Programme at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo also told GhanaFact when contacted about the claim.
According to the National AIDS Control Programme, the Ghana Men’s Study (GMS) II 2017 is the most updated data available on Men who have sex with men (MSM) and Female Sex Workers (FSW) in Ghana – who are described as “key population” by the National AIDS/STI Control Programme in the report.
The report showed that the overall estimate of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Ghana was 54,759, with an aggregate national HIV prevalence of 18.1% amongst MSM in Ghana.
“This will mean that for every 100 MSM in Ghana who test for HIV, you’re likely to get 18 out of 100 who would likely test positive for HIV,” Kenneth Ayeh Danso clarified.
Meanwhile, the Ghana National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (2016-2020) has noted that HIV prevalence amongst key populations, such as men who have sex with-men (MSM), female sex workers (FSWs), persons who inject drugs (PWIDs) and prisoners is disproportionately high compared to the general population.
Further checks by GhanaFact on the websites listed as sources by Prince David Osei -“www.reuters.com, www.unaids.org, ghanafact.com, Ghana AIDS Commission” – showed non of the platforms had published the data or any report similar to the post on Instagram.
