Begoro (E/R), Nov. 25, GNA - The Begoro Government Hospital in the Fanteakwa District recorded Zero percent HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among teachers in the district for the past two years.

The HIV/AIDS Counsellor at the hospital, Miss Joyce Boahemaa Budu, disclosed this at a four-day training workshop on HIV/AIDS for 298 JSS heads and teachers at Begoro on Thursday.

The workshop was organized by the Ghana Education Service (GES) under the "Teacher, Agent of dissemination and change" programme of the Ministry of Education and Sports. It was jointly sponsored by the Department of International Development (DFID) and the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC).

It was aimed at equipping the teachers with the relevant knowledge and skills that would enable them integrate the teaching of HIV/AIDS into the school curriculum.

Miss Budu asked the teachers not to be complacent with their current HIV/AIDS negative status but should avail themselves regularly for voluntary testing to enable them live positive lives. She said anti-retroviral drugs could only prolong the lifespan of people living with HIV/AIDS but not to cure the disease. She called on the public not to marginalize and ostracise people living with the disease since taking care of the victims would not let one contract the disease.

The Fanteakwa District Director of Education, Miss Mary Animwaa, cautioned that the promotion of quality education in the country would be a farce if teachers and pupils fell victims to the HIV/AIDS. She asked teachers to spearhead the campaign against the disease. The participants appealed to the government to make HIV/AIDS education programme independent of the school curriculum rather than integrating it in the curriculum. 25 Nov. 05