STDs and AIDS in Ghana
Pellow, D.
Genitourinary Medicine 70(6): 418-423
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0266-4348 PMID: 7705861 DOI: 10.1136/sti.70.6.418Document Number: 303088
Gonorrhea and other infectious diseases were introduced to Ghana prior to the colonial period by European settlers. By the 1920s, both gonorrhea and syphilis were widespread in southern Ghana (3760 and 1503 cases, respectively, in 1925-26) and soon disseminated throughout the country. By 1946, there were 82,430 cases of gonorrhea and 9340 cases of syphilis--an increase exacerbated by the influx of laborers and troops during World War II. Although there was no government department responsible for the control of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), sulpha drugs were widely utilized and distributed through the black market. It was not until 1986, when the first case of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was diagnosed in Ghana, that government health officials gave serious attention to STDs. At that time, the most prevalent STDs were gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomonas. By 1992, 10,285 AIDS cases had been reported to the National AIDS Control Program and high rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection existed in prostitutes and blood donors. Awareness of the role that STDs play as co-factors in HIV acquisition prompted in 1993 the decision to integrate AIDS and STD control programs. Campaigns to train health workers in AIDS/STD detection, treatment, and prevention were initiated. Women's subordinate socioeconomic status, which renders them unable to insist on condom use and denies them access to STD treatment, remains a major obstacle.