Nkoranza (B/A), Sept 23, GNA - Madam Fati Saaka, Nkoranza District HIV/AIDS Focal person, has urged religious leaders to encourage their congregations to undergo voluntary counselling and testing to know their HIV status. Addressing a meeting of the Nkoranza district HIV/AIDS Committee, attended by representatives of six community based organisations and religious leaders at the weekend, Madam Fati said urged the leaders to preach against moral decadence to sensitize the people about the pandemic.

She advised the community based organisations to use the funds given them by the Ghana AIDS Commission for educational campaigns judiciously, to make the needed positive impact. Madam Saaka advised the youth to shun pre-marital sex to avoid contracting HIV and also not to hesitate going for voluntary counselling and testing.

Madam Eva Agbodo-Saku, Nkoranza District Public Health Nurse, disclosed that the prevalence rate of the pandemic in the area was very high and urged opinion leaders to lead the campaign to create awareness among the people to control its spread. She said as at the end of last year, about 245 persons out of 1,467 tested for the pandemic were positive. She said as at June this year, about 64 out of 628 persons tested also proved positive.

She advised the people to heed to the three steps to avoid HIV, which are abstinence, being faithful and the use of a condom. The Reverend Emmanuel Osei, chairman of the Nkoranza local council of churches expressed his concern about the high rate of the pandemic in the district and called on other religious leaders to help address the problem.