HIV/AIDS education should not be discriminatory -Nurse

Kumasi, April 17, GNA-Mrs Vivian Addo-Cobia, Principal Nursing Officer in-charge of the maternity department of the Kumasi South Hospital, has observed that the traditional belief that girls are more vulnerable to acquiring the HIV/AIDS disease than boys and so more education should be aimed at them ought to be discarded.

She therefore entreated non-governmental organisations (NGOs), traditional and religious authorities and other anti-HIV/AIDS campaigners to embark on a more balanced education since the pandemic did not discriminate with regard to gender.

Mrs Addo-Cobbia was speaking at the first quarterly "Daddy's Forum" for the year of the Kumasi South Hospital at Kyirapatre on Friday. The forum brings together couples with the view to sensitising them on reproductive health issues.

She urged anti-HIV/AIDS campaigners to continually sensitise the youth and encourage them to appreciate the need for attitudinal change, stressing that it was rather strange that the youth who seem to know more about the disease were the particular group who were most affected by the pandemic.

Mrs Addo-Cobbia called on pregnant women to seek early voluntary counselling test to know their status and help save their unborn babies from contracting the disease.

This early test, she said, was important since there were improved medical facilities to prevent HIV infected pregnant mothers from transmitting the disease to their unborn babies.

Dr Frank Abebrese, Medical Superintendent in-charge of the hospital, said studies had shown that investing in adolescent sexual reproductive health leads to positive results and as such the hospital would continue to sensitise couples to learn about their sexuality.