Women's Ministry donates to PLWHAs

Accra, Jan.4, GNA - The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs on Friday donated items worth 2000 Ghana cedis to 110 females who are Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs).

The items, which included 110 bags of 5kg rice, nine boxes of Key soap, eight boxes of cooking Oil and 10 boxes of Mackerel was donated by the Ministry as part of a programme initiated three years ago to help female PLWHAs enjoy the Yuletide. Presenting the items, Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Women and Childtren's Affairs advised PLWHAs to form groups in their various communities to ensure that they get a united front to address their grievances.

"It is only when you have a collective front that the Ministry would be able to assist in putting your problems across to government," She said. Hajia Mahama advised PLWHAs to take the Anti-Retroviral drugs and seek medical attention to enable them to become healthy. "You should do a little job to support and take care of yourself. Do not see yourself as a dejected person because if you do that you would be stigmatised. Nobody is better than you so let your creator take control of your life," she advised.

She said PLWHAs in areas like Ofankor, Kasoa and Ada were part of the beneficiaries of this year's presentation.

Miss Linda Akyaa Mensah, a PLWHA and Head of the Human Compassion Foundation, a non-governmental organisation committed to the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS said stigmatisation against PLWHAs has gone down drastically due to high level of educational campaigns and testimonies against the spread of the disease. She said the Ofankor-based foundation is made up of 185 members who generate income through making beads and weaving baskets to support their livelihoods.

Miss Mensah was grateful to the Fevers Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for crediting Anti-Retroviral drugs to PLWHAs.