Winneba (C/R), Dec. 1, GNA -- Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, Deputy Minister of Health, on Friday called for global enforcement of the World Health Organization's (WHO) principles for the protection of the rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the WHO Global Programme on AIDS in the 1980s laid down important principles for the protection of the rights of PLWHA, but unfortunately not enough attention has been paid to the human rights of such persons.

Mr Owusu-Agyei, therefore, called on civil society organizations, health professionals and governmental agencies to use the celebration of the World HIV/AIDS Day, which falls on Friday, to assess and draw up action plans for the strict adherence of the principles for the protection of the rights of PLWHA in the country.

The Deputy Minister was speaking in an interview at Winneba on Friday after leading a team of health professionals including another Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Gladys Norlay Ashitey to undertake a two-day free medical care in the Effutu/Ewutu District. He expressed dissatisfaction at the suffering and in most cases loss of identity, individuality, dignity and privacy of PLWHAs as well as stigmatization.

Mr Owusu-Agyei, who is also the Member of Parliament for Effutu/Ewutu, said indications were that HIV/AIDS had become an epidemic because many people did not have access to basic human rights. =93Once people are infected with or presumed to have HIV/AIDS, the violation of their human rights is further ingrained by the refusal of treatment, denial of access to essential drugs including anti-retroviral therapy, discrimination in the health care and employment sectors,=94 he said.

=93Every person is entitled to the standards or conditions necessary for living a decent life and enjoying basic entitlements - capacity to pursue basic needs with dignity and respect.=94 Mr Owusu-Agyei said these rights were universally recognized as fundamental to the dignity of the individual irrespective of the persons' health, economic or social status.

The foundation of all human rights was the inherent worth and dignity of the human being, he said, adding that PLWHAs were also entitled to these as of right as guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution. Mr Owusu-Agyei, therefore, called for an effective response to the pandemic, which must be based on respect for all cultural, economic, civil, political, social rights and the right to development in accordance with national legislation and international human rights principles, norms and standards.

Dr Ashitey, who led the team of medical professionals from the Anglican Health Professional Guilds and Hope Medical Missions, appealed to Ghanaians to adhere to clean environmental practices as it was the key to healthy living.

She noted that most ailments were direct consequences of living in a poor and unhygienic environment, lack of understanding of medical directives and general apathy towards healthy practices. Dr Ashitey called on all who had not yet registered for the National Health Insurance Scheme to immediately do so. Hundreds of people from about 20 communities within the district attended the free medical care. They were treated and given drugs, while those whose cases needed further attention were referred to the Winneba Government Hospital.