The Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira on Friday appealed to nurses and para-medical staff to stop the brain-drain and rededicate themselves to the cause of improving the health of the people.

He was speaking at the launch of the Eastern Region Nurses Week celebration at Begoro in the Fanteakwa district on Friday, which celebration was under the theme: "Nurses fighting Aids stigma, caring for all."

Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira said the region recorded 2,000 new cases of the HIV/AIDS last year and appealed to nurses and other health workers to assist people living with the disease.

He also asked the public to stop the stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS and called on individuals and organisations to collaborate with health workers to prevent the spread of the disease.

The Regional Chairperson of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA), Mrs Margaret Appiah-Tuffuor, observed that the stigmatisation the public attached to people with HIV/AIDS caused psychological problems for them.

She, therefore, urged health worker to kept in confidence personal information on HIV/AIDS victims.

The Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, commended individuals and organisations involved in the fight against the disease.

He called on district assemblies, chiefs, Churches and opinion leaders to spearhead the fight against the HIV/AIDS.

The District Chief Executive for Fanteakwa, Mr Ebenezer Ofoe Caesar, expressed concern about the negative perception of the public towards people living with the disease and call for public education on the issue