During an episode of RAAYUWA, a programme aired on Adom TV on Sunday, December 14, 2025, a nurse introduced as an Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) nurse at the Adabraka Polyclinic, Rafiatu Musah, made deeply stigmatizing, misleading, and transphobic remarks about HIV, men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender persons.
The statements, broadcast on national television, reinforce harmful stereotypes, undermine Ghana’s HIV response, violate national law, and pose a serious risk to public health.
Speaking on the programme, Rafiatu Musah stated:
“If I say unprotected sex, it’s not only about heterosexuals. It’s not only about male and female, do you understand me. Men who have sex with men, the whole world, HIV is known as the gay man’s disease.”
She further claimed:
“The first HIV case which was identified in the 1980s was in a gay man. And so, another name for HIV is a gay man’s disease. And so when we say unprotected sex, at most times, let not make our minds get into the direction of women and men [opposite sex relationship].”
In attempting to contextualize HIV prevalence, she framed national data in a manner that blamed specific communities:
“Men who have sex with men, as I am speaking to you now, the national prevalence of HIV in Ghana is 1.5%. But we have some particular population that HIV is very high among them. First, it is the gays. We have coded them a certain way. We call them the vulnerable male or men. There are a lot of them. Or men who have sex with men, which is coded as MSM.”
She continued:
“And this population just last year, there was a Bio Behavioural Survey, Men Study. Previously, in 2017, the prevalence of HIV among gays was 17.1. And now, it is 26.1.”
Her remarks escalated further into transphobic language and harmful generalisations:
“Among the gays, there is this category of people who classify themselves as transgenders, self acclaimed females. It is 46.3%.”
She concluded by directly attributing Ghana’s new HIV infections to these populations:
“Last year alone, 15,200 new infections were recorded. As we are speaking, this group of people has made it escalate more because their percentages are very high. So, when you test 10 transgender persons, at 4 or 5, it will be positive for HIV.”
Misinformation That Endangers Public Health
Labeling HIV as a “gay man’s disease” is scientifically inaccurate and constitutes dangerous public-health misinformation. HIV is transmitted through specific behaviors – such as unprotected sex and sharing contaminated needles—not through sexual orientation or gender identity.
By presenting HIV as a problem belonging to MSM and transgender persons, these remarks risk creating a public-health crisis. Individuals who do not identify as part of so-called “key populations” may wrongly believe they are not at risk, leading to reduced precautionary behavior, delayed testing, and disengagement from prevention messaging. This false sense of immunity directly increases the risk of new infections.
When such misinformation comes from a healthcare professional – especially an ART nurse – it carries institutional authority and can significantly distort public understanding of HIV risk.
Harm to Individual Bodies and Our Collective Bodies
The consequences extend beyond misinformation. Stigmatizing narratives from healthcare providers create fear and distrust in health facilities. People who anticipate judgment, ridicule, outing, or discrimination may avoid facilities like the Adabraka Polyclinic, decline HIV testing, or disengage from treatment altogether.
This harms individual bodies, as delayed diagnosis and interrupted treatment worsen health outcomes. It also harms our collective bodies, as untreated HIV leads to higher viral loads and increased community transmission, undermining Ghana’s national HIV control efforts.
In public health, stigma is not incidental – it is a structural barrier that directly fuels the epidemic.
Deepening Stigma Against Persons Living With HIV
By repeatedly associating HIV with being gay or transgender, these remarks add another layer of stigma against persons living with HIV. They reinforce the false assumption that anyone living with HIV must belong to these groups, exposing people living with HIV – regardless of identity – to suspicion, discrimination, social exclusion, and violence.
Such narratives discourage disclosure, weaken treatment adherence, and erode psychosocial wellbeing, contradicting decades of evidence-based HIV programming.
Contravention of the Ghana AIDS Commission Act
The remarks are inconsistent with the Ghana AIDS Commission Act, 2016 (Act 938), which mandates a rights-based, non-discriminatory, and evidence-driven HIV response.
The Act requires:
- Non-discrimination against persons living with or affected by HIV
- Protection of dignity, rights, and confidentiality
- Universal, stigma-free access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment, care, and support
- Accurate public education grounded in science and human rights
Publicly labeling HIV as a “gay disease,” using transphobic language, and attributing national HIV trends to specific populations directly undermine the objectives of the Act and Ghana’s national HIV strategy.
Rightify Ghana’s Position
Rightify Ghana strongly condemns the remarks made by Rafiatu Musah on RAAYUWA on Adom TV.
Such statements have no place in healthcare settings or public discourse. They endanger lives by reinforcing stigma, misinformation, and fear, and they undermine Ghana’s commitment to an inclusive and effective HIV response.
Rightify Ghana affirms that healthcare professionals are duty-bearers who must uphold ethical standards, human rights, and national law. The organisation will consider taking appropriate actions, including engagement with relevant authorities and institutions, to ensure accountability, protect affected communities, and prevent recurrence of such conduct within health facilities.
Conclusion
Ending AIDS in Ghana requires science, compassion, and trust – not blame and stigma. When healthcare professionals promote misinformation and discrimination, they place individual lives and collective public health at risk.
HIV is not a “gay man’s disease.”
Stigma is the real threat – and Ghana cannot afford it.
Rightify Ghana 