Madina (GAR), Jan 1, GNA - Political, community and opinion leaders, have been urged to include HIV/AIDS education in their programmes whenever they address the public.

Mr S Y Owusu, Chairman of the Friends of the Aspiring and Married Couples (FOTAMAC), a Christian Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), devoted to the campaign against HIV/AIDS and awareness creation made the call at Madina, near Accra.

He was speaking at a forum organised by FOTAMAC with the support of the Ghana AIDS Commission for about 450 participants from the Madina Urban Council area on the theme, "HIV/AIDS Sensitisation and Awareness for the Youth, Vocational Workers and Disadvantaged Women".

Mr Owusu noted that the focus of all well-meaning people should be on HIV/AIDS awareness creation because the disease had the potential of "robbing the world of hard working men and women, mostly in their most productive period of life".

He said politicians especially and other community and opinion leaders stood the best chance of moving the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign forward because of their constant interaction with the people and the confidence they have in them.

The FOTAMAC Chairman stressed the need to impart knowledge about the disease to avoid the stigmatisation of those living with HIV/AIDS some infected through no fault of theirs.

He urged the people to comfort and show love and compassion for those living with the disease to enable them to live longer. Mr Nash Abbey, Ga District HIV/AIDS Focal Person, commended FOTAMAC for not only creating awareness about the disease but also encouraging people to adopt "non-risky" behaviours and lifestyles to avoid being infected.

The District Focal Person commended members of the NGO for serving as anti-HIV/AIDS volunteers in the Madina area and urged FOTAMAC to extend its activities to cover not only disadvantaged females but their male counterparts as well.

Mr Abbey said the prevalence rate in the district was almost 8 per cent and urged the NGO also to include rural areas in the district in its anti-HIV/AIDS education and awareness creation programmes. Mr Adu Brako, Senior Health and Environmental Officer also praised FOTAMAC for organising the forum for hairdressers, barbers, tailors and other vocational workers and porters popularly called "kayayo," especially during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

He urged NGOs not to misapply funds provided by the Ghana AIDS Commission, which would defeat the government's efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.

A person living with HIV/AIDS identified only as Sister Akosua narrated how she acquired the disease and appealed to the people to change their sexual and other social attitudes to avoid contracting the disease.

She advised them to voluntarily take the HIV/AIDS test to know their status before getting into relationships and to use condoms to protect themselves, adding that, "abstain until you are ready to marry and to stick to the one that you know".

Most of the people at the forum congratulated her boldness in declaring her HIV/AIDS status and urged other people living with the disease to emulate her.

A drama on "Disadvantaged women - Kayayo" was staged at the forum.