Techiman (B/A), April 17, GNA - Three hundred and fourteen people out of 2,950 screened at the Techiman Holy Family Hospital between January to December last year tested HIV positive. Twenty-six deaths were recorded during home-based care visits while voluntary counselling and testing recording eight HIV/AIDS positive out of 52 people.

Mr. Takyi Acheampong, Techiman Holy Family Hospital HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator disclosed this in a report delivered to members of the Municipal AIDS Committee on Wednesday.

He said from January to December last year, the hospital recorded 198 males and 215 females on clinical cases out of which 88 males and 115 females were HIV positive.

A total of 2,068 males and 380 females blood donors were recorded at the same period out of which 95 males and 16 females were discovered to have HIV.

He gave the breakdown of the positive cases among the age groups as 0-4 years five cases out of 18; 5-9 years one case out of 15; 10-14 years six cases out of 95; 20-24 years 33 out of 413 while ages between 25-29 had 66 cases out of 591; from 30-34 years 78 cases out of 768; 35-39 years with 54 cases out of 464.

The rest are 40-44 years had 35 cases out of 284; 45-49 years recorded 15 cases out of 137; ages between 50-54 had 11 cases recorded out of 42; 55-59 years six cases out of 91; and 60 and above three out of 16 cases.

Mr. Acheampong said the Association of People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) formed in 1992 had been revived and majority of persons diagnosed were willing to share their situation with their relations as a step forward for doing away with stigmatisation.

Mr. Stephen Agyeman-Badu, Techiman Municipal Focal Person said six Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) namely, Ahenbronoso Care Foundation, Bronkyempem Care and Support Community Alert, Inter-Faith Family Network and Korkor Medical Centre had registered over 200 HIV/AIDS victims, some of whom were children and orphans in the municipality.

Mr. Agyeman-Badu said the NGOs and CBOs were providing the patients with money and medication as well as anti-retroviral drugs, adding that, through such packages a number of people living with AIDS (PLWAS) had come forward to declare their HIV/AIDS status and were being supported. He said 27 people had been selected and trained on the distribution and the use of condoms whilst CEDOV, a non-governmental organisation had also trained 30 volunteers to sell condoms to the public for a commission.

Mr. David Yaro, Techiman Municipal Co-ordinating Director in an address charged members of the monitoring team to intensify their activities by visiting the CBOs centres, taking care of the PLWAS to know what was on the ground for effective work. He urged CBOs operating in the municipality to use diplomacy to interact with suspected patients so that they would boldly come out to declare their status to enhance efforts aimed at combating of the disease in the municipality. 17 April 05