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Ghana: UNAIDS Pledges More Support Towards HIV/ Aids Interventions
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Public Agenda (Accra)
18 April 2008
Posted to the web 18 April 2008
Ama Achiaa Amankwah and Leticia Annan
Accra
In the last decade, the number of women living with HIV/AIDS is said to be growing faster, especially in sub-Sahara Africa with an estimated figure of 60%. In Ghana women form over 63% of people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Country Director of UNAIDS, Dr. Leopold Zekeng who disclosed this said a core responsibility of his organisation is to support civil society organisations to be more involved in the national response programme, since government alone cannot provide the necessary services to the larger population of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA).
"UNAIDS is involved in CSOs working in the area so that Ghana can scale up prevention and ensure that PLWAs have greater access to support services and also reduce stigma."
Dr. Zekeng stated this when UNAIDS presented IT equipment to the Society for Women and Aids in Africa (SWAA) Ghana in Accra to support SWAA's activities in the three northern regions.
The items include three desk top computers, a printer, a fax machine and a UPS to stabilize power.
Dr. Zekeng described Ghana as peaceful, free and dedicated to issues concerning women, particularly those living with HIV/AIDS.
"UNAIDS is committed to help Ghana realize the goals of her national AIDS response programme as we look forward to a Ghanaian society free of HIV/AIDS " he pledged.
He called on the media to join hands with CSOs like SWAA to effectively prevent HIV/AIDS in Ghana.
SWAA Ghana is a branch of SWAA International, a Pan African Organization in 41 African countries. It is committed to reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and children in Africa.
The President of SWAA Ghana, Madam Cecilia Lodonu-Senoo said the organization has for the past ten years engaged in advocacy on women's reproductive health issues, awareness creation on HIV/AIDS, sensitization of the plight of orphans and vulnerable children and the empowerment of women to claim their rights and access to social services.
"SWAA does not only work with PLWAs but with women in general, especially those at the grassroots since they are often not captured."
She said SWAA supports women living with HIV / AIDS with income generating activities in the form of training and providing seed monies.
"SWAA Ghana in collaboration with the fevers Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital established a comfort fund to assist PLWAs by providing basic medicine and related needs for women living with HIV/AIDS, " she disclosed.
Madam Cecilia complained about the fact that resources needed by SWAA to implement programmes were not forthcoming.
According to her, many of the people - women who are in legal and stable marriages are infected with HIV/AIDS due to socio-cultural practices like polygamy.
"Majority of them lack the power to actually negotiate for safer sex. Poverty and lack of parental responsibility also lead most young girls to contract HIV/AIDS as they try to make a living" she lamented.
She said SWAA Ghana is looking forward to maximizing the resources of its members in order to improve on their socio-economic lives.
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A technical advisor to SWAA Ghana, Kate Adoo-Adeku , stressed that civil society needs to be empowered and motivated to help solve these issues.
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