Dr Teddy Avortri, Wassa West District Director of Health Services, has said even though more than 95 per cent of Ghanaians were aware of the dangers of the HIV/AIDS, and know how to avoid it, they continued to lead reckless sexual lives resulting in the rapid spread of the disease.

He was addressing HIV/AIDS awareness rally At Bogoso in the Wassa West District at the weekend.

Six Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) from Prestea, Nsuta, Bepo, Bogoso, Aborso and Huni Valley, involved actively in the HIV/AIDS awareness programme in the district were also inaugurated.

Dr Avortri said the disease was having a devastating effect on the social and economic lives of the people.

He stressed the need for efforts by chiefs and other opinion leaders, religious organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to check the spread of the disease.

Dr Avortri appealed to parents to discuss the issue with their children at home and the need for them to avoid pre-marital sex.

He also spoke against drug peddling and drug pushing, which he said had assumed alarming proportion among the youth in the district.

Inaugurating the CBOs, Mr Bernard Sakyiama, Wassa West District Development Officer, appealed to members to step up house-to-house HIV/AIDS awareness creation programme.

He said the government had allocated 120 million cedis to enhance the programme in the district and added that the money should be used judiciously.