RICHNESS the WRITER

By Richard Agodzo Before their voices are even heard, they are silenced. Before they dream, their futures are written for them. In Ghana’s Northern Region, too many girls are married off before they are 18, and the women they grow into are later cast away, labelled witches, and forced to die in isolation. This is the brutal, cyclical violence no one talks about — and it must end. In the dry, dusty villages of Northern Ghana, a quiet injustice unfolds daily — invisible to many, yet devastating to generations of women. Gambaga witches camp in the Northern Region of Ghana Girls as young as 12 are removed from school, handed to older men in exchange for bride prices or to ease a family's financial burden. Their lives become a series of burdens: childbirth before adulthood, unpaid domestic labour, and the trauma of leaving behind their childhood dreams. “I was married off to a man older than my father,” shares a 16-year-old girl from Yendi. “I wanted to be a teacher, but now I’m a wife...

By Richard Agodzo In 2024, Ghana is still grappling with HIV as a public health challenge. Despite interventions, one truth stands out from the just-released National HIV Estimates: young people remain significantly at risk of new infections. But the data also tells another story — one of opportunity. With digital platforms emerging as the new frontier of communication, youth-led HIV advocacy has the potential to change the course of the epidemic. Yet, stigma in the digital age is silencing the very voices that can save lives. Ghana AIDS Commission, in collaboration with UNAIDS Ghana, unveiled the National HIV Estimates for 2024. The statistics, while a necessary national tool, are also a sobering reminder of the work yet to be done. Ghana is currently home to approximately 334,721 people living with HIV (PLHIV), with women making up nearly 69% of that population. In 2024 alone, the country recorded 15,290 new HIV infections. Alarmingly, young adults continue to constitute a significan...