Miss Rachel Lawerh, Public Health researcher
A new research presented at the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) 2025 conference has raised concerns about declining support for young women living with HIV in Ghana’s Lower Manya Krobo Municipality, following recent funding cuts.
Miss Rachel Lawerh, a public health researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa, shared findings from her study, “Through Our Eyes: Exploring the Experiences of Young Women Living with HIV in Lower Manya Krobo (Ghana) Using Photovoice,” revealing how reduced donor support is affecting essential services.
“Some of the girls in this study work as peer support for some of their peers living with HIV… So this funding cut has rendered some of them jobless,” she said. She added that even basic medical tests have become inaccessible for some participants. “In one of the works I shared, one of the participants had to undergo a test but because she does not have money, she was unable to do it and that is as a result of the funding cut.”
Miss Lawerh explained that health workers also reported cutting back community outreach programmes due to limited resources. “People at the hospitals also mentioned that they used to have outreaches among others but with the funding cut, they had to scale back and reprioritise what they can do with the little funding they have.”
Her study used photovoice, a participatory method in which young women captured images that reflect their daily realities. “Participants take pictures of things that have meaning for them and they use that to discuss what their life experiences are,” she said.
Miss Lawerh stressed that the funding gaps are worsening existing challenges, including stigma, economic hardship, and poor road infrastructure that limits access to care. “When it rains, it floods but they need to go to the hospital and they are unable to do that,” she noted.
She called for renewed local investment. “We have to look at local funding… Community based organisations need to come together and see how best they can support these girls.”
She also urged a shift in public attitudes towards HIV. “Usually we see HIV from the lense of promiscuous behaviour but it goes beyond that,” she said.