Bolgtanga, Aug. 9, GNA - Dr. Richard Amanye, Director of Technical Service of the Ghana AIDS Commission, has reiterated government's commitm= ent to the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.

He said consequently, the authorities had set aside huge sums of money for the Commission towards the fight against the menace this year. Dr Amanye was speaking at a workshop in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, where a five-year HIV/AIDS strategic plan document for 2011-2015 wa= s disseminated to participants. The event sought to explain the document to participants to ensure its use for planning and implementation of HIV/AIDS programmes. The Upper East Region currently had the highest prevalence rate among the three Northern Regions (Upper West, Upper East and Northern). Dr. Amanye said the strategic plan would help reduce by half, new infections and virtually eliminate mother-to-child transmission of the disease and optimise, sustain and scale-up care for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA).

He said the plan sought to supply logistics, decentralize administration of HIV drugs at district levels among others by 2015. Dr. Amenya said: 93'The Ghana AIDS Commission has also entered into partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide food for PLWA in the three Northern Regions."'

He said that statistics from the Commission in 2009 revealed that only four per cent of men and seven per cent of women had voluntarily tested for HIV/AIDS with majority of Ghanaians refusing to go for the test.

Dr. Amenya called on Ghanaians to go for testing for the disease since there was evidence to show that people on anti-retroviral drugs were lookin= g healthy. He said as part of the strategic plan, the Ghana Aids Commission would target the wider population. Dr Amenya said that data available also revealed that sex workers and people with multiple partners were mostly carriers of the diseases. He said: 93The plan will also intensify education to make people refr= ain from going to the shrines, herbalists and pastors for cure for HIV/AIDS". The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo, expressed worry tha= t the Region had recorded the highest prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among the three Northern Regions and also the third nationwide. He noted that people were refusing to go for HIV/AIDS test because of stigmatization and discrimination against PLWA. Mr Woyongo said that government would continue to support the Commission through donor assistance including the Global Fund and WFP. He called on NGOs to support the Commission to carry out its mandate o= f fighting HIV/AIDS. District Planning officers, District Coordinating Directors, HIV/AIDS focal persons, officials of NGOs and PLWA attended the programme.