Need to fight stigmatization of people living with HIV and AIDS

Ms Freda Amoatin, Vice President of the University of Ghana Medical Students Association, has stressed the need to intensify the campaign against stigmatization of persons living with HIV and AIDS.

She said that, if the public becomes aware that people living with the disease are leading normal lives, people would realise that the disease is not necessarily a definite death sentence.

Ms Amoatin made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday, after an HIV and AIDS screening exercise, by the association, as part of the 50th anniversary activities of the University of Ghana Medical School.

She said because of the terminal nature of the disease, people naturally had a morbid fear for it.

Ms Amoatin said it was interesting to note that while some other diseases had a mode of transmission that easily put people at risk, HIV and AIDS was not easily transmitted.

"The virus needs to enter your body through a cut on your skin. Even if blood containing the virus is poured on your skin and there is no cut, you could simply wash it off without being infected,"she said.

Ms Amoatin expressed the hope that with time, people would have a more open attitude towards issues concerning the human reproductive system.

"Opening up on the subject, informs us a lot more on what needs to be done, to ensure that through the promotion of responsible behaviour, we can control the spread of HIV and AIDS."

Other activities for the week-long anniversary celebration include sporting activities, an interaction by the students with their lecturers, and a debate.**