Two Decades of living with HIV- Ambassador Gifty Torkornu

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By Richard Agodzo  


Many still see HIV as a deadly virus but for Madam Gifty Torkornu her journey of living with HIV has been a blessing. Twenty years of positive living, she celebrated her milestone with the St Paul's Catholic Church in Kpehe-Accra Newtown together with her friends from the Ghana Network of Persons living with HIV/AIDS (NAP+ Ghana).

In her early stages of HIV, Gifty described the ordeal of her survival as a grace and love from God. According to her, she lost hope of making it through her early diagnosis as she lost her baby in the course. 

She said, "I was in my prime of becoming a civil servant when I got to know my status." She added, "You may think HIV is far away from you but it is closer to you than you think and it is no 'respector' of  person."

She encouraged the congregation to test and know their HIV status and also encourage their partners to know their status.  "Knowing your HIV status puts you ahead of others in many things and keeps you and your partner safe", she said.

Gifty appealed to HIV led organizations to provide more intensive education on HIV in all levels and sectors. She said this making  reference to the current data of new HIV infections in the country. 

Gifty's physician, Professor Ernest Kenu at the School of Public at the University of Ghana - Legon encouraged the congregation to continue to accept persons living with HIV. He said, "Accepting Persons living with HIV helps them live positively throughout their journey after testing positive. "

Stigmatizing against Persons living with HIV in this 21st century is a thing of the past and not acceptable by law, Professor Kenu claimed. "The Ghana AIDS Commission Act 2016 (Act 938), protects Persons living with HIV from stigma and discrimination. Furthermore, it prohibits wrongful disclosure of someone's HIV status," he added.

Her Service in HIV

Gifty works as a Model of Hope at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital under the Community Systems Strengthening of the Global Fund's New Funding Module 3. As a model, Gifty set herself as a positive example to encourage others who are newly diagnosed, or in denial of their diagnosis.

Gifty reaches out to defaulters and clients that are lost-to-follow-up as part her duty being a Model of Hope. Additionally, she support HIV positive pregnant women and lactating mothers to eliminate mother to child transmission. . 

She is the Greater Accra Regional Chairperson of the NAP+ Ghana, a poultry farmer and a mother of one.

Ghana's HIV drive

Twenty years ago, HIV infection was a death sentence, but today it is a treatable disease that can be managed with appropriate medications.  The number of AIDS-related deaths, 2 million just in 2004 at the epidemics peak, has been cut in half and continues to decline.    

The numbers were dramatically decreased through effective policy and Programs such as test and treat, prevention of mother to child transmission, and community-based approaches that reject the stigma of HIV infection together achieved this near miracle.

Lifesaving anti-retroviral (ART) drugs can effectively suppress the virus and give those living with HIV the opportunity to live full lives and not spread the virus to others.   

ART drugs can suppress viral loads to the point where they are undetectable – and when viral loads are undetectable, they are untransmissible.  These lifesaving drugs effectively break the cycle of infection, ensuring that HIV+ people can live full lives without the risk of infecting others.

But hard work remains.  There is still no vaccine or cure for HIV.  Even as we adopt cutting-edge science, we must work together to develop innovative solutions, distribute lifesaving drugs, fight stigma, support people living with HIV, and continue our efforts to educate people about the risks and how to prevent HIV infection.

In December 2022, we commemorated World AIDS Day with the global theme “Equalize.” We know that equitable access to health care is an important part of gaining control of the HIV/AIDS epidemic here in Ghana.  

Ghana has taken the bold step to define its Universal Health Coverage Vision for 2030: “All people in Ghana have timely access to high quality health services irrespective of their ability to pay at the point of use.”  

As Ghana recovers from a serious economic crisis, we hope the government will continue to uphold equitable access to health care services and its commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage.

Let’s continue our work together to erase barriers to quality HIV service access, such as stigma and discrimination, gender-based violence, and policies that further marginalize individuals – including the LGBTQI+ community, racial and ethnic minorities, and women and girls.

We will prevent new infections by addressing the problem head on.  We will achieve HIV epidemic control by embracing – not stigmatizing – those living with HIV.  We will achieve this goal by rejecting policies that encourage people to avoid testing, hide their sexual orientation, or conceal their HIV status.  

We will achieve this goal by encouraging young people to use condoms and practice safe sex.  We will achieve this goal by strengthening health systems.  We can achieve this goal together.



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