Accra, Sept. 25, GNA - Professor George Hagan Chairman, National Commission On Culture (NCC), on Tuesday cautioned Ghanaians not to take advantage of the availability of Anti-Retroviral Drugs to continue to live irresponsibly.

They should rather thread cautiously and stay safe and alive, he said at a workshop for the development of a Workplace Policy within the NCC.

He said the fact that HIV/AIDS had become a public health issue should not give people the opportunity to have unprotected sex, adding that it was better to stay safe than get infected.

Prof. Hagan noted that developing the policy was to sensitise staff, create a conducive working environment for persons living with the virus and create special desks for HIV/AIDS in its offices. The National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS developed by the National Tripartite Committee, in collaboration with the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), would serve as guidelines for the NCC in developing one of its own.

The National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS has among its guidelines principles, gender equality, providing care and support, ensuring non-discrimination, healthy working environment, preventing new infection, role of employers and employees and confidentiality. Staff of the NCC, National Theatre, Ghana Dance Company and the National Symphony Orchestra were attending the three-day workshop. Prof. Hagan said the stigma attached to the disease was worrying and encouraged staff to know their HIV status. "Knowing your status is the first step towards behavioural change for the uninfected and care and treatment for the infected".

The workplace, he said, was one area that sexual immorality thrived hence tackling the problem from that angle was the best thing to do. He mentioned some of the challenges as disclosure due to stigma and finding the financial resources due to the opportunistic diseases that came with it.

Prof. Hagan condemned stigmatisation and noted that persons living with the disease should rather be shown love and care. He also called for the establishment of funds in various establishments to support staff living with the condition.

Mr Joseph Amoah of the Ghana Employers' Association, who spoke on the National Workplace Policy, called for continuous awareness of HIV/AIDS saying, "surprisingly HIV/AIDS prevalence has increased and there is the need to double our efforts to stem the tide".

The policy, he noted, was to contribute towards the health of workers, spell out sanctions for those who stigmatise colleagues and also have a mechanism to identify people who were infected and how they could be protected and supported. It also tasked workers to closely work with their employers in the development of their workplace policy to enable them to influence personnel effectively.