HIV/AIDS disease still prevalent in the country

Agona Swedru, July 13, GNA - Out of a total of 1,020 people screened for HIV/AIDS in 2008 at the Agona Government Hospital 103 came out as HIV positive.

Mr Felix Jacob Obeng Forson, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Agona West, said this when he addressed a large crowd of spectators who watched the Final World Cup match between Spain and Netherlands on a giant screen which ended one-nil in favour of Spain. The giant screen was provided by the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and Sony Electronic Corporation to enable the public to watch the just ended World Cup Tournament that took place in South Africa.

The DCE said the disease was still prevalent in the society and therefore urged Ghanaians to be mindful of their sexual habit to help reduce the spread of the pandemic.

He said there was no cure for HIV/AIDS and therefore prevention was the best way to avoid contracting it.

He appealed to those with HIV/AIDS to take their drugs and follow the advice given them by their medical officers. Mr Cosmos Ohene-Adjei, Sub-Project Manager of Ghana AIDS Commission said HIV prevalence rate among the youth between age 15 and 24 was 2.1 percent in 2009 as against 1.9 percent in 2008. He commended JICA for providing funds for the past five years to implement HIV/AIDS education programmes with a focus on the youth. Mr Ohene-Adjei appealed to JICA and Sony Corporation to provide enough resources to continue the excellent work that JICA had initiated to enhance the health care of Ghanaians. Dr Nii Adjei Adjetey, Agona West Municipal Director of Health Services urged the people infested with HIV/AIDS to visit health facilities for anti-retroviral drugs to enable them to carry out their statutory functions.

He expressed appreciation to JICA and Sony Corporation for assistance that had helped hundreds of Ghanaians to know their HIV/AIDS status. Nana Osei Akumia, Marketing and Mobilization Manager of Plan Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), said about 200 people had taken advantage of the programme to go through counselling and testing of HIV/AIDS to know their status. In the quiz competition, Swedru Senior High School took the first position with 33 points, Swedru School of Business came second with 28, NYASTEC placed third with 25 points. 13 July 10