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Ghana: Queen Mothers Urged to Get Involved in HIV/Aids Campaigns
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Public Agenda (Accra)
30 June 2008
Posted to the web 30 June 2008
Accra
Ms. Golda Asante, Eastern Regional Focal Person on HIV/AIDS, has urged queen mothers to get involved in joint and multi-sectoral social marketing campaigns to fight HIV/AIDS.
She also advised them to encourage schools, families and community groups to include HIV/AIDS education in their homes.
Speaking at an advocacy workshop on HIV/AIDS for chiefs and queen mothers in the Akuapem Traditional Area at Akropong, Ms Asante said queen mothers could act as a focal point in organizing education campaigns in their communities to educate young girls on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
She advised them to employ the influence and respect they command as community leaders, to mobilize, educate and inform the youth and women in their communities about HIV/AIDS and other related health issues.
"Assist in the education of the girl-child on marital health issues and the implications of early pregnancy, abortion and failure to attend ante-natal clinic and hospital when pregnant," Ms Asante told the queen mothers. She also urged them to help build AIDS competence by identifying potential harmful social and customary practices that constituted a hindrance to anti-HIV/AIDS efforts.
"Play a role by identifying social or cultural practices that may contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS, like tattooing, puberty rites and love covenants", she advised.
Ms Asante called on them to collaborate with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and other stakeholders to solve the high rate of teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality in the region.
She urged the youth to abstain from pre-marital sex, and always use condom whenever they wanted to engage in sex.
Dr S.T Ofori, Eastern Regional Co-ordinator of HIV/AIDS, stressed the need for people to know their HIV/AIDS status through Voluntary Testing and Counselling (VCT).
He said the advantages in knowing ones status, far outweighed the disadvantages adding that, drugs were available for those who may test positive, which would enable them to live normal lives.
HIV/AIDS stigma is still a problem - Dr Anie
In a related development, Dr Silvia Anie, Director of Policy and Planning at Ghana AIDS Commission Secretariat, has expressed concern about the availability of anti-retroviral drugs at selected health institutions in the country but not being patronized by HIV/AIDS patients.
She noted that the patients were not coming forward to collect the drugs due to fear of stigmatization and discrimination by society.
Dr Anie therefore, urged those who had tested positive to the disease to seek early treatment in order not to weaken the body's defence system and later die.
She expressed the concern at a day's sensitization workshop on HIV/AIDS Reporting for Journalists in the Central Region, at Cape Coast.
Dr Anie pointed out that the virus multiplies at a fast rate and could weaken the body's defence system when early treatment was not sought.
The workshop forme$$$$ part of series being organized by the League of HIV/AIDS Reporters, Ghana in collaboration with Ghana AIDS Commission to update Journalists on the disease.
It would in addition, build their capacity to report on the pandemic effectively to help eliminate the stigma attached to it.
Dr Anie advised HIV/AIDS patients to fight for their survival by abiding by the advice and counselling of health workers to help prolong their lives and not allow their goals in life cloud over any stigma and discrimination.
"If you are accessing health care for survival, it is a matter of life and death and must therefore be taken seriously," she said.
She urged society to stop discriminating against HIV/AIDS patients since it could happen to anyone.
Dr Anie announced that available statistics indicated that only seven per cent of Ghanaians knew their HIV/AIDS status and was unacceptable because knowledge about one's status could delay its development.
She also expressed concern about the high rate of homosexuality in the country that was contributing to the upsurge of the disease.
Dr Anie said although the national prevalence rate had reduced to 1.9, Ghanaians should not be complacent but intensified education on the disease to safeguard more people from contracting it.
She urged Journalists to contact the appropriate sources before reporting on the disease.
Ishmael Nana Ogyefo, Central Regional Focal Person, said the region was currently "enjoying" a stabilized prevalence rate of 2.9 and said a resource centre would be established soon for people to access information on the disease.
He said some of the challenges facing the Region were inadequate funds and high rate of stigmatization and called on the media to help reverse the trend through intensified public education.
Mr Samuel Yenyi, Central Regional HIV/AIDS Coordinator, said last year, among 1,331 people screened for Tuberculosis in the Region 457 tested positive to HIV/AIDS and stressed the need for more education to help reduce the Regional prevalence rate.
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He said globally, 33.2 million people were living with the disease of which 63 per cent were in Africa while 16 million people world-wide die annually of HIV/AIDS. GNA
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