Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday stressed the need for continual training and retraining particularly in Human Psychology for personnel in the health, education and sports sectors of human resource development.

"Health, education and sports combined under human resource development should be characterised by continual training and retraining in Human Psychology to build a versatile, adaptable and forward-looking human resource base for our socio-economic development," he said. President Kufuor said training programmes would help to build a versatile, adaptable and forward-looking human resource base for the country's socio-economic development.

President Kufuor made the call when he delivered the State of the Nation Address to Parliament in Accra.

He said one of the most difficult problems that had faced the nation was how to make health delivery easily accessible and humane and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) had been launched to offer solution to the age-old problem.

President Kufuor said the Government would continue to focus on the full implementation of the NHIS including the in-built protection for the poor and the vulnerable.

He announced that the National Ambulance Service, which was introduced in Accra in 2004, would be extended to the other Regions while Accident and Emergency Centres in health institutions would also be established in all Regions.

President Kufuor said the Government would continue to lay emphasis on managing the six preventable diseases as well as intensifying the fight against tuberculosis, malaria, Buruli ulcer and guinea worm. He said, even though, in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, public awareness had increased significantly, the expected result of lowered infection rates had not materialised.

President Kufuor, therefore, stressed the need for a renewed campaign for actual behavioural change because AIDS was real and could negate all the efforts made.

"The AIDS Commission is obviously doing its best but will need the help and cooperation of the entire society if we are to defeat this danger", he said.