Rape victims urged to seek immediate treatment for HIV infection

Dodowa, Sept. 29, GNA - A medical expert has advised rape victims, who may have been exposed to the HIV infection, to report for treatment within 48 hours to halt any infection.

Dr Oliver Commey of the Fevers Unit at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital said rape victims could receive a post exposure prophylaxis treatment at the teaching hospitals, HIV counselling and treatment units and regional hospitals to stop the infection.

The medical specialist was speaking at a media training workshop on "effective reporting on women and HIV and AIDS "at Dodowa in the Greater Accra region.

Some twenty female journalists from both the private and state-owned media organisations attended the workshop, organised by Women, Media and Change, a non-governmental organisation with sponsorship from the African Women Development Fund.

Dr Commey said statistics indicated that globally, only 10 per cent of people living with HIV knew their status and in Ghana it was eight per cent.

He said it was for everybody to check their HIV status to ensure good health.

Mrs Bernice Heloo, International President of the Society of Women and AIDS in Africa, said key players should look beyond the current approaches of preaching abstinence, being faithful and condom use to underlying social and cultural factors, which made women vulnerable to the virus. Madam Hannah Enninful, Principal Nursing Officer at the Atua Government Hospital in the Eastern region, said currently, there were about 1,035 infected persons receiving the anti-retroviral treatment at the hospital, with women forming about 60 to 70 per cent of this figure. Speaking to journalists during a visit to the HIV Counselling and Testing Unit of the hospital, she said the unit was taking care of people across the country and some neighbouring countries because of the excellent work taking place there.