Obuasi (Ash), April 26, GNA - The Global Evangelical Mission Hospital at Apromase in the Ejisu-Juaben District is to be equipped with a surgical theatre to enable it to provide medical care to buruli ulcer patients.

To this end a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Hospital and the America Leprosy Mission, under which the latter would assist in the establishment of the theatre.

The Rt. Reverend Dr Emmanuel Kormla Gbordzoe, Moderator of the Global Evangelical Church, announced these at the 18th Annual Kumasi Presbytery Representative Council Conference of the Church at Obuasi.

He said apart from the theatre, the America Leprosy Mission would assist in an education programme aimed at educating the people within endemic communities to enable them to appreciate the extent of the problem and its way to solve it.

The Rt. Rev. Dr Gbordzoe said the Apromase Hospital started as a medical centre at Ejisu-Krapa before it was upgraded into a full-fledged referral hospital.

He expressed concern about the contradictory messages being carried across towards the fight against the dreaded HIV/AIDS. The Moderator noted that even though there were many causes leading to the disease, "our focus on the disease is sex" and therefore encouraging the distribution of condoms.

"When we distribute condoms to young people then we have a danger. It will be very dangerous when the youth at a point decide to try to experiment without the condoms", he said.

Dr Gbordzoe said he did not have anything against couples using condoms but "I am 150 percent against condoms being used by unmarried people".

The Moderator called for the teaching of the youth on the faith instead of being interrupted with condom distribution.