“Ghana is among the 29 African countries reported by the WHO to have been able to reduce prevalence of HIV and AIDS over the past decade,” Ghana President John Dramani Mahama writes in the Huffington Post’s “The Big Push” blog. “While we can be proud of our response, we must recognize that the main challenge in the fight against HIV and AIDS globally is how to ensure Universal Access to prevention, treatment, care and support, and [ensure] zero transmission of new HIV infections in children,” he states.

“To be able to achieve these laudable goals, especially for us in sub-Saharan Africa, there is the need for us to invest in improving our weak health systems,” he writes, noting Ghana is investing $75 million for its domestic response against HIV/AIDS. Mahama also calls on “international donors to meet” the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s goal to raise $15 billion for 2014-2016. He concludes, “We can beat HIV and AIDS. But we can do this only if we continue to act together and prioritize HIV and AIDS as a major health threat to our global survival” (5/23).