The Interior Minister, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has announced that about 1,300 applicants who participated in the recent security services recruitment exercise tested positive for HIV.
According to the Interior Minister, the revelation informed the government’s decision not to send medical results directly to unsuccessful applicants.
He disclosed that there is a need for proper counselling and adherence to international health guidelines.
Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak explained that applicants who fail the medical examination were provided with contact details to enable them to voluntarily seek further information.
Speaking before Parliament’s Public Assurance Committee, the Interior Minister stated, “I remember the recent recruitment we had. I think about 1,300 also were on HIV. Can you imagine sending somebody a result telling the person that you have HIV? That’s not the procedure. The person has to go through some orientation”.
Also, he asserted that several of the medical conditions identified during the screening are treatable.
“Some of the things that we realised are treatable. People need to know and then also get treatment so that subsequent recruitment they could join,” he stated.
He further encouraged unsuccessful applicants to request their medical results, “It may be something minor, it may be something major. Whichever it is, if you get to know, it will be of great interest to you”.
The Interior Minister also disclosed that the government did not contact the HIV applicants directly but had instead provided a channel for them to voluntarily request their results.
“We provided contact for people to call who were interested in knowing why they failed… We are obliged to give them the results, but we can’t send them to you on the phone,” he explained.
Earlier, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak disclosed that over 6,000 applicants were disqualified during the medical screening stage of the ongoing security services recruitment.
Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak detailed that over 100,000 applicants underwent medical examinations as part of the recruitment process.
According to the Interior Minister, the Security Service medical process was expanded beyond the usual physical and laboratory checks.
He disclosed that the test included drug testing and mental health assessments.
The Interior Minister detailed that more than 4,000 applicants failed the drug tests, while about 2,000 others were disqualified on mental health grounds.
Speaking in an interview on Pan African TV on Saturday, May 23, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak disclosed, “We have over 100,000 people who went through the medicals. Because of the large numbers, and because of what we have observed within the services.
We introduced additional checks, including mental health assessments and drug tests. Interestingly, over 4,000 people failed the drug test, and we have over 2,000 who also failed due to mental health conditions,” he said.
Some Ghanaians reacting to the development stated, “My question is, are the people already infected taking their antiretroviral drugs? Because you can’t spread it if you take your meds. HIV is not a death sentence like before; now there are single pills a day to take. Oh my God”.
“If you’re a guy/lady out there, here’s something for you to think of.
This is a fraction of those who made it to medicals, I believe, not the entire pool of applicants! Use your imagination 😹. I’ll still wake up 6 am each morning to search for curative measures!!”, a netizen added.
One X user added, “A country where 90% of advertisements are koti eduro and night TV shows are about teaching sex styles, what should we expect??”
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— Serwaa Amihere, Esq (@Serwaa_Amihere) July 7, 2026
