Accra, Oct. 24, GNA - A flag raising ceremony to mark the 58th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) was held in Accra on Friday with a call on all not to be complacent and not to relent in adopting appropriate and cost effective strategies to ensure that the spread of HIV/AIDS was reduced to the least level.

Speaking at the ceremony, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Acting Foreign Minister, said available statistics indicated an increasing rate of infections of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

This, he said, called for the pursuit of preventive strategies and ultimate eradication of the HIV/AIDS menace.

This year's ceremony, which attracted members of the diplomatic corps, Ministers of State, Chiefs and Queen Mothers, students from second cycle schools, is under the theme "HIV/AIDS a global concern, Ghana and the UN in partnership".

Alhaji Idris hoisted Ghana's flag while Mr Alfred Salia Fawundu, UN Resident Coordinator, hoisted for the UN. After hoisting their respective flags, they inspected a parade mounted by a contingent of the Ghana Armed Forces.

October 24 of each year has been set aside by the UN for member states to organise activities to commemorate the founding of the organisation. The Acting Foreign Minister said over 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, with more than 29 million living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He noted that Ghana had not been spared of the disease, saying, the nations HIV/AIDS prevalence rate stood at 3.4 per cent but this had risen marginally over that past two years.

He expressed regret that out of the 90 per cent of the 600,000 HIV cases reported in Ghana, the youth was the most affected, out of which 63 per cent were females.

Notwithstanding this, the Acting Foreign Minister said, "our children, the future workforce have not been speared with the pandemic", adding that 170,000 children have been orphaned as result of the disease. "If the present trends continue, 236,000 children would be orphaned by 2014," the Minister said.

He commended the UN and its agencies in the fight against the HIV/AIDS and pledged Ghana's commitment to fight the spread of the disease. The Acting Minister, however, stated that if the UN was to enhance its credibility and to reassure its relevance, fairness, humanity and sense of balance then it must characterize its responses to all event of similar nature irrespective of where such an event occurred.
The Acting Minister congratulated Busumuru Kofi Annan, UN Secretary - General for his dynamic leadership in managing the affairs of the world. In a message to the World Body, Busumuru Annan said UN would continue to tackle poverty, disease, climate change and spread of small arms. Mr Alfred Salia Fawundu, UN Resident Co-ordinator, who read UN's Secretary General's message, asked all nations to work together to fight terrorism and spread of weapons of mass destruction.

He called on all nations to help rebuild Iraq after years of war, oppression and isolation.

Ms Myram Togobo, President of the Ghana United Nations Students Association (GUNSA), registered the Association's displeasure with the mergence of the Ministry of Education with the Ministry of Youth and Sports saying youth issues would not receive adequate attention.

She said GUNSA recognised the role of government and non-governmental organisation and donor community in confronting the HIV/AIDS but "there have been some expressions of misgivings about the operations of some organisations."

GUNSA, therefore, called for a round table discussion for development partners to establish a common modus operandi for the benefit of all the people.

Kofi Annan urges world body to confront global threats Accra, Oct 24, GNA - Following is the message of Secretary-general Kofi Annan on United Nations Day, 24, October.

These are difficult times, for the world and for the United Nations. In Iraq and in many other regions, violence and terror continue to bring death and suffering to innocent people. In august, the United Nations itself suffered a brutal assault on its Baghdad headquarters. We lost some of our dearest friends and colleagues. You, the peoples of the world, lost some of your best and most dedicated servants. But on this United Nations Day, let us not mourn or be downcast.

Let us rather remember what our colleagues were in Iraq to do: to help the Iraqi people rebuild their country, after years of war, oppression and isolation - just as other United Nations workers are in other war-torn countries, helping to relieve suffering, restore peace and build new institution.

We must continue that work of serving humanity wherever its needs are greatest. We must continue helping you, the peoples of the world, to find common solutions to common problems, and we will.

We will continue our efforts to tackle poverty, disease, climate change, and the spread of small arms. And we will also work together to fight terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. We do not have to choose. The United Nations must confront all these threats at once.

To do so successfully, it may be necessary to make change in our international system, including the United Nations itself. By and large, I believe our Organization has served humanity well for fifty-eight years. But it has never been perfect, and the time may well have come to improve it. I have urged all governments to think about that, and I am appointing a panel of wise men and women, to make suggestions.

In the end, governments will decide. But they will make the effort to reach agreement only if you, the peoples, tell them clearly what you expect - what kind of world you want to live in. I rely on you to do that. And I believe that if you do make your voices heard, loudly and firmly enough, we can indeed win through this crisis and build a better world, based on the rule of law. Let us all persevere, in the knowledge that we are all contributing to a better future, for ourselves and for our children.