Parliament decries AIDS epidemic

Parliament on Thursday decried the havoc the HIV/AIDS epidemic is causing in the country and called for the institution of a fund to fight it.

The disease is killing millions, children are becoming orphans while productive members of the population are being weakened thereby destroying the economic base of the country.

Making a statement on the issue, Mr Kwakye Addo, NDC-Afram Plains South, expressed regret that the theme "HIV/AIDS - A National Disaster" on which the Ghana Medical Association organised its first annual public lectures was not fully brought to the fore and effectively publicised.

He said the current lectures should be patronised and given adequate publicity.

Mr Addo said the relevance of this year's theme is to underscore the urgent need to reverse the devastation that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is having on the human resources and socio-economic development of the country.

He said it is obvious that for Ghana to be wealthy, she needs healthy people, who are to move forward, however, the HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens the very existence of the human resources.

"It is on record that the prevalence rate among adults rose from 2.4 per cent in 1994 to 4.6 per cent in the year 2000 with a current estimated 500,000 people living with the virus".

Mr Addo said everyone has a role to play in reversing the increasing spread of the AIDS and in mitigating its effects on those affected.

He called on the Ghana Medical Association to take steps to decentralise their Annual Public Lectures to the regions and the districts in order to make the desired impact.

Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, NDC-Kumbungu, said the chief weapon for the spread of the HIV/AIDS is ignorance and so there is the need to continue and sustain the education of the people.

He said the AIDS epidemic is a developmental issue because it is mostly the youth, who are invariably in the productive group, are the victims of the disease.

Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah, MP and Eastern Regional Minister, said an important aspect of the fight against HIV/AIDS is how the people perceive it and what measures to take to curtail the spread of the disease.

He said as at now there is no known cure for the disease while the drugs to reduce the pain is not easily available and are very expensive especially to the poor.

Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister of Women's Affairs, said it seems most people are belittling the effects of the AIDS epidemic.

She said it is women and children who are mostly at risk and affected and stressed the need for the creation of more awareness right down to the village level.

Mrs Asmah appealed particularly to men to watch their sex life and be more careful so as not to infect innocent women in the society.

She said the Ministry is drawing up plans to create awareness and asked the public to respond in good faith.

Mr Gershon K. Gbediame, NDC-Nkwanta appealed to the local Frequency Modulation (FM) stations to allocate more airtime to discuss HIV/AIDS issues so that the message could get to all.