Accra, July 18, GNA- Mr Michael Nsowah, Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on Monday urged the youth to change their attitudes and sexual behaviours to enable them to take control of their lives.

He said behavioural change among the youth was crucial in the fight against the HIV/AIDS menace in the country. Mr Nsowah was speaking at the presentation of certificates to 23 grandaunds from a training programme organised by Theatre for a Change (TFAC), a British NGO in Accra.

The grandaunds, made up of National Service Personnel (NSP) and teacher trainees from Accra Teacher Training College (ATRACO) were given eight months training using interactive theatre as a participatory tool for changing people's attitudes and behaviours towards HIV/AIDS. Mr Nsowah commended the NGO and trainees for taking part in course and expressed the hope that the exercise could have rippling effect in the training of the country's human resource.

Mr Patrick Young, Executive Director of TFAC said the NGO uses interactive theatre as a highly innovative and unique approach to changing behaviours and raising awareness about the HIV/AIDS. He said, the NGO in the last two years have trained about 85 facilitators and over 10,500 young people in performances and theatre workshops.

He said the next phase of the programme, which starts in October this year would be working in four teachers training colleges using the grandaunds as master trainers for teachers who would be working in areas hardest hit by the epidemic.