Sunyani (B/A), Nov. 24, GNA - Available statistics indicates that a total of 3,186 HIV/AIDS cases were recorded at the various health facilities in Brong-Ahafo, as at the end of September this year. Mr Eric Opoku, Deputy Regional Minister, who disclosed this said out of the 11,810 blood donors screened during the period under review, 1,147 were HIV positive, giving the proportion of donors reactive at 9.7 percent. Also, of the 7,574 patients screened during the period under review, 2,039 were HIV positive, which represented 27 percent of the patients, he added.

Addressing the third quarter regional stakeholders' review meeting in Sunyani, on Wednesday, Mr Opoku said for this reason, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) had released GHC 105,000 to be disbursed to the regional, municipal and district AIDS Committees, for the management, co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of the pandemic. The Deputy Regional Minister observed that, the contraction of HIV/AIDS was not only through unprotected sex with a carrier because "there are other modes which may result in infection".

"It is not only promiscuous persons who acquire the disease, therefore, there is no basis for one to judge, discriminate or stigmatize against persons infected or affected by HIV/AIDS", Mr Opoku said. He noted that the stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS "was being heightened by the manner in which some journalists define HIV/AIDS during news-casting". The Deputy Regional Minister entreated the media to be circumspect in their reportage and help reduce the stigma attached to victims of the pandemic.

"HIV is currently a manageable disease like any other chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, and strict adherence to treatment could make one live the lifespan in God's scheme of things", Mr Opoku stressed. He observed that, for fear of discrimination, stigmatization and abuse of rights, most HIV victims resort to seek cure, care and support at herbal centres and prayer camps at the expense of orthodox healthcare. Mr Opoku expressed concern that "these people wait till the virus develops into fully fledged AIDS before showing up at the health facilities by which time things might have gone out of hand". He said the government alone could not solve the HIV/AIDS problem and needed the concerted efforts of all stakeholders and appealed to the general public to be at the fore-front of the HIV/AIDS campaign. The Deputy Regional Minister commended the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) for sponsoring the regional coordinating council's HIV/AIDS workplace programme and regional commemoration of World AIDS Day. In a speech read for her, Dr. Angela El-Adas, Director General of the GAC explained HIV/AIDS response thrived on a sound monitoring and evaluation system that produced evidence-based data for informed decision making. She said the commission had over the years been at the fore-front in strengthening the monitoring and evaluation system for effective national response.

Dr. El-Adas mentioned poor data quality, late submission of reports by most Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and inadequate monitoring by the regional and district AIDS committees, as some of the key challenges in the data management systems at the decentralized level. 24 Nov. 10