to prolong life of patients

Nsawam, March 9 GNA - Mr. Massa Aluwonu, Chairman of the African Healers Association, on Monday called on traditional medicine practitioners to work together to unearth medicine that would improve the deteriorating conditions of HIV/AIDS patients and prolong their lives.

He said any move towards poverty reduction would be meaningless unless there were enough interventions that would make HIV/AIDS medicine affordable and accessible to enable those who had contracted the pandemic to go through their economic activities with ease.

Mr Aluwonu made the call when he addressed about 200 traditional medicine practitioners at Nsawam.

The practitioners were drawn from Aburi, Nsawam, Sekyikrom, Nsabaah-Pokrom, Nkyinini Amanfo and Ntoaso, in the Akuapim South district, in the Eastern region.

He said such intervention would have direct impact on the economy since HIV/AIDS victims who were in the productive sector would for a time being had the strength needed to contribute their quota to the development of the nation.

Mr Aluwonu advised the practitioners to pay their dues and organise themselves into a unified force to enable them to obtain assistance from the district assembly.

He asked them not to confine patients at their centres but rather, send them to hospitals and clinics when they realised that they had no knowledge in finding cure to their sicknesses.

Mr Daniel Adenyo, the patron of Eastern Regional Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association, called on traditional medicine practitioners who had not registered with the association to do so to enable them to benefit from the efforts of the association.