The Ghana AIDS Commission has warned that disqualifying applicants from employment solely because they are living with HIV could amount to a breach of the Ghana AIDS Commission Act, 2016 (Act 938), following concerns over the recent security services recruitment exercise.

Speaking on Joy FM's Midday News on Wednesday, Director of Policy Planning at the Commission, John Eliasu Mahama, said Section 32 of Act 938 protects persons living with HIV from employment discrimination unless an employer can demonstrate that a particular state of health is essential for the job.

"The HIV status of a person shall not constitute a reason to refuse employment to that person, except where an employer can show that the employment in question requires that the employee must be in a particular state of health or medical or clinical condition," he said.

His comments follow disclosures by Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak that about 1,300 applicants in the recent security services recruitment exercise tested positive for HIV during mandatory medical screening.

The minister said government decided not to send individual medical results directly to unsuccessful applicants but instead provided contact details for them to voluntarily follow up, receive counselling and access further information in line with international health guidelines.

Mr Mahama said advances in medical science, particularly the widespread availability of antiretroviral therapy, have transformed the management of HIV and should be reflected in employment and recruitment policies, including those of the security services.

He noted that many restrictions were introduced when effective treatment was unavailable, but scientific progress has since led to the "Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U)" principle, under which a person living with HIV who maintains an undetectable viral load through treatment cannot sexually transmit the virus.

According to him, several countries have reviewed their recruitment policies to reflect these medical developments rather than outdated assumptions about HIV.

Mr Mahama also stressed that a reactive HIV test result does not amount to a confirmed diagnosis, explaining that individuals must undergo confirmatory testing, receive counselling and be linked to appropriate care before any conclusions are drawn.

He welcomed the decision to release only aggregate data on the recruitment exercise, saying it protects the privacy of affected applicants while allowing them to access counselling and healthcare through the designated hotline.

Asked whether the Ghana AIDS Commission had engaged the Ministry of the Interior on the reported disqualifications, Mr Mahama said the Commission only became aware of the issue after it entered the public domain and has begun internal processes to assess whether the recruitment exercise complied with Act 938.

He added that the matter has already prompted discussions within the Commission's leadership as it reviews the circumstances surrounding the reported disqualifications.