Bolgatanga, Nov. 9, GNA - Many HIV/AIDS patients in the Upper East Region cannot afford a meal a day and this is making it difficult for them to take ante-retroviral drugs they are supposed to take after eating.

A vast majority of them cannot afford to pay the required amount of 50,000 cedis for the drug as well as their means of transport to and from the clinic.

Their families have abandoned most of them after having been diagnosed HIV positive.

MS. Victoria Aziriba, a health worker at Bolgatanga Hospital, said this at an HIV/AIDS forum organised in Bolgatanga on Wednesday in connection with the visit of Mrs. Theresa Kufuor, the First and Hajia Ramatu Mahama, the wife of the Vice President, to the Upper East Region. An HIV/AIDS patient, MS. Lamisi Amoh, said she had been shunned by most of her family members and friends and four years ago her child was sacked from school because she, the mother, was an HIV AIDS patient. She appealed to society to treat them as fellow human beings and said the fact that the disease affected them did not mean they should be stigmatised or discriminated against.

Hajia Ramatu Aliu appealed to Christians, Moslems and other stakeholders to support people living with HIV/AIDS since the government alone could not provide adequate support for them.

The two ladies later visited the Single Mothers' Association, a local non-governmental organization supporting single mothers at Zuarungu, a suburb of Bolgatanga Municipality.

The Project Coordinator of the Association, Ms Stella Abagre, mentioned shear butter extraction, weaving and rice processing as some of the activities the association undertakes.

They inspected some of the exhibitions mounted by the association. Among some of the exhibitions were paddy rice and cakes made from rice. She appealed to the First Lady to support them and said if they were adequately empowered they could do more to sustain their livelihood.

Mrs. Theresa Kofuor commended the association for taking such a bold initiative and pledged her support for them. The Chief of Zuarungu, Naaba Charles Ayamga, commended the two ladies for their immense contribution to the development of the nation and urged them to continue with their good work.