Kumasi, Feb 26, GNA - The Kumasi Centre for National Culture (CNC) will this year intensify its collaboration with Queen Mothers in the Ashanti region to revive puberty rites to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Mr Samuel Adjei, Director of the Centre, has said. He said that in realising the objective, the Centre had started sharing a video documentary on how the rites were performed and its significance to students and the youth throughout the region.

Mr Adjei, was addressing participants at a on culture and HIV/AIDS organised by the Centre for the public on Friday in Kumasi. "There is currently an on-going consultation with Queen Mothers and stakeholders in culture to modify the rite to make it appealing and attractive to the contemporary Ghanaian youth to participate in", he noted. The Centre, he said, had also commenced the organisation of workshops for the Queen Mothers on district basis where personnel from the Ministry of Health would show video films on how HIV/AIDS was spread, its effects on the reproductive organs of the body and the consequences and predicament of the pandemic on the socio-economic development of the nation.

Mr Adjei said as a response to these workshops the Queen Mothers with support from district assemblies had been inaugurating virgin clubs in their respective areas to lay emphasis on abstinence from pre-marital sex. Mr Michael Boamey, Ashanti Regional Co-ordinator for HIV/AIDS programmes, called on the participants to refrain from pre-marital and promiscuous sex, which endangered their lives.