A recent report by the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET) has unveiled a growing public health concern—petty traders are now among the most at-risk groups for HIV infection in Ghana, surpassing traditionally vulnerable groups such as students, farmers, and unemployed youth.

This finding, drawn from GHANET’s 2024 Community HIV Self-Testing (HIVST) project, shines a spotlight on the informal sector’s vulnerability—particularly those engaged in street vending, market trading, and mobile sales—often overlooked in mainstream health outreach programs.

According to Ms. Gladys Akwetey, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at GHANET, the data was gathered through the distribution of over 82,000 self-testing kits, with the vast majority delivered through grassroots community-based organizations (CBOs).

The initiative enabled people to test privately, boosting access to HIV services in underserved communities.

Out of 324 individuals who self-reported reactive HIV results, a staggering 85 were petty traders, signaling a critical gap in education, protection, and access to routine testing services. Students and farmers followed with 29 and 21 cases respectively.

“From the data, we see that petty traders are not only at risk but are also significantly under-reached by traditional HIV prevention services,” Ms. Akwetey explained during a technical workshop focused on designing new education materials and engagement manuals for ‘Other Vulnerable Populations’ (OVP) such as kayayei (head porters), miners, and fisherfolk.

Following confirmatory tests, 39 petty traders were diagnosed as HIV-positive and enrolled in treatment—again the highest among all informal occupational groups.

GHANET’s Vice President, Ms. Victoria Araba Dennis, emphasized that these figures underscore the urgency of developing targeted interventions for workers in the informal sector who face both economic vulnerability and limited access to healthcare.

She noted that traders, especially women, often operate in high-contact, high-mobility environments, making them susceptible to both infection and exploitation.

“Our work must now focus not just on increasing testing, but also on removing social barriers like stigma, gender-based violence, and lack of legal protections, particularly for women in trading and domestic sectors,” Ms. Dennis said.

As part of its role under the Global Fund Grant Cycle 7, GHANET is leading efforts to integrate HIV self-testing with human rights education, reaching over 13,000 OVP individuals with tailored messaging on sexual exploitation, discrimination, and access to services.

Health experts are calling for greater policy focus and government collaboration to extend sexual and reproductive health outreach into informal markets and trading hubs, where testing and treatment remain elusive for many.

GHANET has also praised the efforts of its volunteer networks who serve as critical links between health services and underserved communities. Mrs. Dennis urged them to remain committed as new community-level interventions are rolled out under the OVP framework.

As HIV continues to affect non-traditional groups, experts warn that without nuanced, grassroots-driven approaches, Ghana risks leaving behind entire populations in its goal to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.