Accra, July 1, GNA - Hundreds of Ghanaians on Tuesday joined participants attending the 12th annual US-Africa Sister Cities Conference in Accra in a health walk through some major streets of the Metropolis to draw attention to the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS menace.

The march dubbed: "AIDS Walk", took the marchers from the Holy Gardens at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to the Independence Square, where Ms Shirley Rivens Smith, President US-Africa Sister Cities Foundation addressed them.

She said there was the need for those, who were already aware of the menace to change their strategies in the preaching and shaping of AIDS messages.

"Poor people are the same everywhere, whether in America or Ghana," Ms Smith said.

"Their basic needs in life are food and sex. We cannot make them rich neither can we stop them from having sex, but we can reach out to them in a way that would make them listen to us.

"Let us get closer through interpersonal interaction to get the message through."

Ms Smith said one other way to stop the spread of the disease was for each person already aware of the disease to make a personal resolution to lead a virtuous life in order not to be infected in any way.

"In this way we may succeed in curbing the pandemic somehow."

Ms Smith said during the walk, she noticed that most hawkers were more interested in selling their wares than listening to the message.

"But the only way we can get such people is to show interest in their wares through which we would be spreading the message."

The seven-day US-Africa Sister Cities conference, the third to be held in Africa, is on the theme: "Strengthening Sister Cities in Africa; A Focus on HIV/AIDS Crises, Business, Trade Investment and Democratic Governance."

The conference aims at promoting local community initiatives in line with decentralization as well as promoting international peaceful co-existence as a prelude to improving international trade and investment.

The Ghana Sister Cities Foundation and the Metropolitan City of Accra are hosting the conference under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Participants from 14 cities from the US are represented at the conference while Africa has representatives from South Africa, La Cote d'Ivoire, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana.