Ho, May 31, GNA - The Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Major Courage Quashigah has asserted that well packaged, good and nutritious foods, readily available and affordable to the citizenry was one of the most practicable ways of dealing effectively with the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

He emphasised the point when he inaugurated a 17-member Volta Regional Agricultural Advisory Committee (VORAAC) at Ho on Friday to among others issues advise the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council (VRCC) on ways to develop the region's agriculture.

Major Quashigah, expressed the hope that the Committee would seriously examine the correlation between the state of one's nutrition status and the body's immune system.

He advised the Committee to identify the region's organic crops and work at improved production in terms of quality, quantity, packaging and value in addition to meeting the nutritional needs of the populace and improvement on their incomes.

Major Quashigah contended that people who were HIV positive but possessed the means to procure good nutrition had been able to live normal lives to the full and contribute their quota to national development because their immune systems had been boosted by what they eat.

He said the frightening statistics about HIV in Ghana needed to be more seriously considered and examined through research.

Major Quashigah said though his views might be at variance with the established thinking about how to tackle the disease, the fact remained that the state of one's immune system was diet and nutrition related.