Men living with HIV are transmitting the virus to their female partners at more than three times the rate at which women living with the virus pass it on to men, according to the Ghana AIDS Commission.Citing 2023 data, the commission said that while the male-to-female transmission index is 9.73 per cent, the female-to-male transmission index is 2.96 per cent, with the national transmission index at 5.31 per cent.The figures mean that more than three times as many HIV infections arise from every 100 males living with HIV than females, with the commission explaining that if a gentleman had HIV, it was worse.The Director of Technical Services of the GAC, Dr Fred Nana Poku, disclosed this last Tuesday at a capacity-building programme for media persons organised by the GAC with funding support from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF).The programme was designed to provide participants with up-to-date information on Ghana’s HIV epidemic, emerging policy issues and effective approaches to HIV reporting and advocacy.InfectionDr Poku explained that more women were being infected with HIV than men because of biological and physiological factors that made them more susceptible to the disease.“The first point we want to make is that 80 per cent of all HIV is through sexual transmission. Now, during sexual intercourse, biologically, women are more susceptible because of the nature of their external genitalia, their vagina.The vagina is a receptacle and once you deposit the sperm, because of its anatomy, it receives all the volume of sperm with all the viruses associated with it. So there’s no escape route.“For the male, you need to have some urinary tract infections and other mucosal bridges to be able to get infection,” he explained.Furthermore, he explained, women had a better health-seeking behaviour than men, which led them to test more than men.He said the figures meant the GAC did not have to target its interventions only on women but in men as well.DataData from the recently released 2025 National HIV Estimates revealed that new HIV infections recorded in 2025 was 13,951, with 5,051 representing 36.2 per cent recorded in males, while females accounted for 8,900, representing 63.8 per cent. About 38 new HIV infections were recorded a day in 2025 in both adults and children.As of 2025, 337,435 people were living with HIV in Ghana, with 115,728 representing 34.3 per cent being males, while for females, it was 221,707 representing 65.7 per cent.At least 12,051 AIDS-related deaths were recorded, with females constituting the majority with 6,115 deaths and males accounting for 5,936 deaths. TargetsDr Poku said the commission had set targets to reduce new HIV infections to fewer than 2,200 by the end of 2030, ensure that key populations received adequate services, and achieve 80 per cent comprehensive knowledge of HIV among the general population, among other efforts.Additionally, he said the commission would concentrate on condom programming, which would include deploying condom vending machines, creating demand for condoms and making condoms available.He mentioned other priority interventions of the commission to include expanding access to biomedical prevention tools such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and ensuring that the right channels and digital platforms were available to people.Capacity-buildingThe Director-General of the GAC, Dr Kharmacelle Prosper Akanbong, said the capacity-building was an opportunity for the commission to renew and strengthen its partnership with the media and the AHF. He said over the years, media stories, discussions, interviews and features had helped to increase awareness of HIV prevention and encouraged people to know their status, promoted treatment adherence and challenged stigma and discrimination.“Every headline you write, every radio discussion you moderate, every television interview you conduct, every social media post you publish has the potential to influence behaviours, shape perceptions and ultimately save lives. We, therefore, count on you to be our ambassadors for accurate information, champions against misinformation and disinformation and advocates for evidence-based public health communication,” he said.The Country Programme Manager of the AHF, Dr Ekua E. Houphouët, said one of the greatest barriers to ending AIDS was not the virus itself, but stigma, adding that how HIV was reported on various media platforms could contribute to stigma and discrimination or help to create an environment of understanding, dignity and hope. “Fear of being judged, blamed, shamed or exposed continues to prevent many people from seeking HIV prevention services, testing, accessing treatment and openly seeking care for their health.As journalists, you have the unique opportunity to change this narrative. You can help the public to understand that HIV is a manageable chronic condition. You can highlight that people living with HIV can live long, healthy and productive lives when they have access to treatment,” she advised.