Baakoniaba (B/A) Nov. 4, GNA - Mr. Yaw Osei, an HIV/AIDS patient, on Wednesday urged the youth to refrain from premarital sex to avoid being exposed to the virus.

He expressed concern about public discrimination and the stigmatisation of people living with the disease.

Sharing his experience at separate forums on HIV/AIDS, organised by Global Media Foundation, a non-governmental organisation at Odumase in Sunyani the West District and Baakoniaba, a suburb of Sunyani, Mr. Osei appealed to the public to assist victims of the disease to regularly access anti-retroviral drugs.

He noted with regret that people regard HIV/AIDS victims as outcasts and point fingers at them, an attitude which affects their well-being and shortens their lifespan.

"HIV/AIDS virus is no respecter of persons and every individual can be exposed to the disease, irrespective of societal standing.

Mr. Raphael Godlove Ahenu Jr., Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, stressed that the NGO had designed a number of programmes to educate the public on the need to accept and support victims of the disease.

He expressed concern about sexual promiscuity among the youth and advised girls to avoid men who offer gifts and lure them into bed.

Mr. Ahenu said the foundation was working hand in hand with Mission of Hope Society and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency to promote the wellbeing of victims.

He advised victims to come together and form an association to champion the cause of their welfare. Mr. Ahenu urged them to live healthy lifestyles and desist from alcoholism and smoking to prolong their lives. At another event, Mr. Ahenu called on religious bodies to establish a special fund for HIV/AIDS to augment the efforts of the government and other development partners in the provision of anti-retroviral drugs and other therapies for victims.

He asked municipal and district assemblies to also support activities designed to reduce the economic hardships of the affected people of the deadly disease to minimize its spread.

Mr. Ahenu made the call when he addressed members of the Wawasua churches of Pentecost and Christ Apostolic in the Sunyani Municipality at separate forums after their routine services on Sunday.

The foundation with support from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and Mission of Hope Society, NGOs, organised the forums which was attended by more than 200 members of each of the churches. It was aimed at educating the congregation on the negative socio-economic effects of public stigmatization and discrimination against people living with the deadly HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Ahenu emphasized the importance of churches and other religious groupings to help change the perception of the public towards HIV/AIDS victims, noting that the spread of the disease was strongly influenced by certain socio-cultural and economic environments.

"The socio-cultural and spatial settings in which people operate and political structures which provide the framework of governance have implications for the pattern of the spread and nature of responses to the epidemic," he stated.

Mr. Ahenu underscored the need to strengthen institutional and human capacity to address HIV/AIDS related stigma in Ghana.