Bolgatanga Municipal recorded the highest HIV prevalence in the Upper East Region at 1.46% in 2025, slightly above Ghana’s national adult HIV prevalence of 1.40%, according to data from the Ghana AIDS Commission.
Kassena-Nankana recorded the region’s second-highest prevalence at 1.08%, closely followed by Bongo District at 1.07%.
The figures come as national estimates show that 337,435 people were living with HIV in Ghana in 2025, with nearly 14,000 new infections and more than 12,000 AIDS-related deaths estimated during the year.
In the Upper East Region, Builsa North followed the three areas with the highest prevalence, recording 0.87%, while Nabdam recorded 0.76% and Kassena-Nankana West 0.65%.
Garu recorded 0.59%, with Bawku West and Talensi each at 0.58%. Bolgatanga East recorded 0.56%, Bawku Municipal 0.43%, Builsa South 0.41%, Pusiga 0.40%, Binduri 0.33% and Tempane 0.31%.
The data also shows that Bolgatanga Municipal’s 1.46% prevalence was higher than the figures reported for the listed districts and municipalities in the neighbouring Upper West Region.
Wa Municipal recorded the highest prevalence in the Upper West Region at 1.33%, followed by Nadowli-Kaleo at 1.29%, Nandom at 1.23% and Lawra at 1.16%.
Daffiama-Bussie-Issa recorded 0.91%, Jirapa and Wa East each recorded 0.84%, Sissala East 0.80%, Sissala West 0.76%, Wa West 0.57% and Lambussie 0.51%.
The National and Sub-National HIV & AIDS Estimates for 2025 put the number of people living with HIV in Ghana at 337,435.
Of that number, an estimated 315,513 were adults aged 15 and above, while 21,922 were children aged 14 and below.
Among adults living with HIV, 242,638 were between the ages of 15 and 49, while 72,875 were aged 50 and above.
The estimates also put the number of adolescents aged 10 to 19 living with HIV at 19,528, while 33,317 young people aged 15 to 24 were living with the virus.
Ghana recorded an estimated 13,951 new HIV infections in 2025.
Adults aged 15 and above accounted for 12,724 of the estimated new infections, while 1,227 occurred among children aged 14 and below.
Young people aged 15 to 24 accounted for 3,835 new infections, while 1,023 were recorded among people aged 50 and above.
The estimates also show that 12,051 people died from AIDS-related causes during the year.
Of those deaths, 10,533 occurred among adults aged 15 and above, while 1,518 were among children aged 14 and below.
Despite advances in HIV treatment and prevention, the national estimates indicate that significant gaps remain in getting people diagnosed and onto treatment.
About 57.6% of adults aged 15 and above living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy, while treatment coverage among children aged 14 and below stood at 39.6%.
Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission coverage, however, reached 98.9%.
Ghana also recorded 70%, 81% and 92%, respectively, on the three stages of the global 95-95-95 targets.
The targets seek to ensure that 95% of people living with HIV know their status, 95% of those who know their status receive antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of people receiving treatment achieve viral suppression.
The figures show that Ghana remains furthest behind on the first target, with an estimated 70% of people living with HIV aware of their status.
This suggests that increasing HIV testing and diagnosis remains a major challenge even as the country records stronger performance in treatment outcomes among people who have entered care.
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