1,300 Security Service Applicants Tested Positive for HIV- Interior Minister Confirms

A total of 1,300 applicants who took part in recent recruitment exercises into Ghana’s security services have tested positive for HIV, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has disclosed.

Appearing before Parliament’s Government Assurance Committee on July 7, Muntaka said the cases were recorded out of 100,000 persons who went through aptitude and medical screening.

The revelation prompted the Chairperson of the Committee, Dominic Nitiwul, to urge the Ministry to urgently reach out to those affected to help curb further infections.

“Please, find a way of reaching out to these people as the number is huge and scary,” Nitiwul said.

He explained that contacting the 1,300 persons would enable them to know their status, seek counselling, and begin early treatment, which is critical to preventing them from unknowingly spreading the virus.

The Minister, however, said the results have not been sent directly to the applicants “because we do not want the shock.”

According to him, a contact line has rather been provided for the recruits to reach out themselves for orientation before being informed of their status.

Citing World Health Organisation guidelines, Muntaka said certain medical conditions must be handled with care.

“You just do not throw it on a person’s face that you have hepatitis B and you have HIV,” he told the committee.

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