Kwaebibirem District ranked 3rd in HIV/AIDS in Eastern Region

Akwatia, Sept. 12, GNA - Kwaebibirem District currently ranked third in HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the Eastern Region. Mr Daniel Afari, the District HIV/AIDS Focal Person, on Friday announced this at an exit-durbar at Akwatia to mark the end of a four-year programme on HIV/AIDS Prevention through Education (HAPE) in the area.

He said the rise in the prevalence rate in the District could be attributed to the mining activities with the resultant influx of migrants in the area. The district, therefore, comes after Manya District and the New Juaben Municipality, which ranked first and second respectively.

Gold and diamond are mined in a number of places in the Kwaebibirem District, attracting large numbers of migrants to the area. At the durbar, the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) handed over the HAPE project to the community through the district assembly. The project, which was funded by JICA, was implemented with the collaboration of the District Assembly, the Ghana Education Service and the Ghana Health Service.

Mr Afari said the HAPE projects have shown some positive results and expressed optimism that though PPAG and JICA had pulled out, the project would be sustained by the community.

Mr Paul Alidjah, District Health Education Programme Co-ordinator, noted that the programme had made great strides in the area with peer educators spreading knowledge on HIV/AIDS. He said teachers in public schools had been trained and were helping to transfer the knowledge to other schools in the district. Miss Etsuko Yamaguchi, adviser for the JICA Project, thanked the chief and people in the area for their co-operation, which she said, made the project a success. She hoped the project would grow from strength to strength.