Prayer camps hindering fight against HIV - Ghana AIDS Commission

The Ghana Aids Commission is worried about the activities of some prayer camps and healing centres in the Eastern Region which have become treatment centres for persons living with HIV/AIDS.

According to the commission, some prayer camps have become a place for treatment of patients living with Aids and delivery centres for pregnant women, a situation the commission says is hindering the fight against HIV in the Region.

In a Citi News interview, a Technical Coordinator with the Ghana Aids Commission, in the Eastern Region, Golda Asante indicated that the activities of the prayer centres pose a significant challenge to achieving the 2030 goal of ending HIV Aids in Ghana.

“There was one prayer camp that had 52 pregnant women were there, and we were told that that was the least, sometimes they can get as many as 120. When you look at the total number of pregnant women who attend antenatal the number who test positive and those who are enrolled in treatment you can see a gap,” she said.

She noted that some of these women prefer to back prayer camp instead of going back for their antiretroviral treatment to prevent their children from contracting the virus.

“Some of them instead of going back to access the antiretroviral treatment they will prefer going to the prayer camps,” she said.

Last month[May] the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA), stated that it is critical to train the next generation of researchers who would contribute to tackling HIV/AIDs and other diseases on the African continent.

The group’s newly-elected president, Professor John Idoko, commended all HIV and AIDS advocacy groups across the continent for collectively attaining a remarkable feat in the fight.

He, however, noted that in the last decade, new diseases like Ebola and Lassa fever threaten to militate against the fight.

In January this year, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) announced that there is still no known cure or vaccine for HIV and AIDS currently and advised persons living with HIV (PLHIV) to stick strictly to the Anti-Retroviral medication to stay healthy.

The Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi, who refuted the claims of a herbal cure for HIV at a media briefing in Accra, said these claims should be ignored.

“If you think herbal medicines are good for you, have them as supplements like you take vitamins. Please tell everybody who is living with the virus never to neglect to take the antiretroviral medication in addition to the therapy.”

In a Citi News interview, a Technical Coordinator with the Ghana Aids Commission, in the Eastern Region, Golda Asante indicated that the activities of the prayer centres pose a significant challenge to achieving the 2030 goal of ending HIV Aids in Ghana. “There was one prayer camp that had 52 pregnant women were there, and we were told that that was the least, sometimes they can get as many as 120. When you look at the total number of pregnant women who attend antenatal the number who test positive and those who are enrolled in treatment you can see a gap,” she said.

She noted that some of these women prefer to back prayer camp instead of going back for their antiretroviral treatment to prevent their children from contracting the virus.

“Some of them instead of going back to access the antiretroviral treatment they will prefer going to the prayer camps,” she said.

Last month[May] the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA), stated that it is critical to train the next generation of researchers who would contribute to tackling HIV/AIDs and other diseases on the African continent.

The group’s newly-elected president, Professor John Idoko, commended all HIV and AIDS advocacy groups across the continent for collectively attaining a remarkable feat in the fight.

He, however, noted that in the last decade, new diseases like Ebola and Lassa fever threaten to militate against the fight.

In January this year, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) announced that there is still no known cure or vaccine for HIV and AIDS currently and advised persons living with HIV (PLHIV) to stick strictly to the Anti-Retroviral medication to stay healthy.

The Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi, who refuted the claims of a herbal cure for HIV at a media briefing in Accra, said these claims should be ignored.

“If you think herbal medicines are good for you, have them as supplements like you take vitamins. Please tell everybody who is living with the virus never to neglect to take the antiretroviral medication in addition to the therapy.”