The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has kicked against forcing any group of people or individuals to test for HIV and AIDS.
Testing under duress or by force, according to the Acting Director-General of the Commission, Mr Steve Kyeremeh Atuahene, is against the Commission’s policy on voluntary testing and counselling.
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“No one should be forced to test for HIV AIDS because it is against the policy of the Commission,” he said.
Mr Atuahene was speaking on Adom FM’s morning show, “Dwaso Nsem” Monday on the back of comments by Alban Bagbin, a National Democratic Congress [NDC] flagbearer hopeful, advocating for presidential and parliamentary candidates to be tested for HIV/AIDS as part of their qualification processes.
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In spite of Ghana’s target of ensuring that 90 per cent of people living with HIV and AIDS get tested and given access to treatment by 2020, Mr Atuahene said voluntary testing remains the surest way.
He noted that taking people through all the processes is the only way to adequately prepare them for the news of HIV/AIDS detection.
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According to him, the national HIV/AIDS policy also prohibited pre-employment screening because it was discriminatory and exposed patients to stigma.
