Parents asked to exercise full control over children

Safo (Ash), Sept 5, GNA- Alhaji Ahmed Akwasi Yeboah, Kwabre District Chief Executive, has called on parents to exercise full control over their children so that they cultivate good moral habits to save them from contracting AIDS virus.

He expressed regret that because many parents have failed to be responsible for their children's upbringing, many of them have gone wayward and are indulging in bad sexual habits that has contributed to the upsurge of HIV/AIDS cases.

Alhaji Yeboah was speaking at a community HIV/AIDS awareness day at Safo in the Kwabre District of Ashanti on Tuesday, as part of a four-day skills training workshop for 40 unemployed youth in tie and dye and batik making.

He urged the people to learn lessons from the effects of the virus and change their lifestyles.

Dr Bosquo Hamilton, a Senior Medical Officer at the Suntreso Hospital in Kumasi, said HIV/AIDS was a developmental problem, which must be prevented.

He warned the youth especially those in the more active sex group to desist from engaging in unprotected sex in order not to get infected. Dr Hamilton said reported HIV cases have increased in Ashanti, adding that the Kwabre District registered 158 cases out of 3,261 cases reported in the region in 2002.

Dr Hamilton, who is also Head of the Bantama sub-metropolitan health management team, dispelled the notion that AIDS was caused by evil spirits and cautioned that the disease is real and can affect anybody who fails to keep up to healthy lifestyles.