HIV/AIDS workshop ends in Kumasi

A three-day workshop on HIV/AIDS for 40 peer educators in the Manhyia sub-metro of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly ended in Kumasi on Wednesday.

The workshop, which was organised by Act Now Against AIDS, a local NGO, with support from the Ghana AIDS Fund, aimed at equipping the participants with knowledge and understanding of the HIV/AIDS to enable them educate their peers in their localities.

It was also aimed at sensitising the participants on the need to educate the public to reduce stigmatisation on HIV/AIDS victims to prevent the further spread of the disease.

Topics treated included care and support for people living with AIDS, HIV/AIDS spread and prevention, drug use, peer pressure, reproductive health, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), communication skills and behavioural change.

Addressing the closing ceremony, the Executive Director of the NGO, Mr Peter Kwaku Nkrumah, urged religious bodies to be more proactive in the fight against the disease.

He advised the youth to value their lives and refrain from acts that could endanger their lives.

Mr Nkrumah urged the participants to educate the public to change their attitude towards people living with the disease and have compassion for them.

Dr Sampson Antwi, a Paediatrician Specialist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), advised the youth who were the most vulnerable to the disease to be self-disciplined to avoid contracting the disease.