FRONT PAGE STORY, DAILY GRAPHIC
Story: Fauziatu Adam
Current estimates indicate that 267,000 Ghanaians, including 25,000, children are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the International Health Care Centre (IHCC).
What is even frightening is that 2,500 Ghanaians are infected with the virus and 2,000 deaths are recorded annually.
Dr Naa Ashiley Vanderpuije, a health expert at the IHCC which manages AIDS cases, made this known at a workshop organised on HIV/AIDS for opinion leaders in Muslim communities in Accra.
The workshop was funded by the African Women's Fund and initiated by Yada da Allah, a Muslim women’s outreach organisation, and the Muslim Women and AIDS Association of Ghana.
The estimates are consistent with projections by the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) from 2009 to 2015.
In its National HIV Prevalence and AIDS Estimates 2009-2015 Report, the NACP projected that the country's HIV prevalence was expected to rise gradually from 267,069 in 2009 to 280,219 in 2011.
That is due to the combined effects of population growth and an increasing number of HIV-infected persons who are living on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
According to the report, 22,177 new infections were registered in 2009, while 20,313 AIDS deaths were recorded, with 26,150 new infections and 17,046 deaths being projected for 2011.
Addressing the workshop, Dr Vanderpuije said people living with the virus could also play an important role in limiting its spread and, therefore, stigmatising them would not help them progress in society.
"They can help prevent further infections and improve the quality of their own lives through positive behavioural change. People who have HIV but who are not yet ill can live full and productive lives. People living with HIV/AIDs should not be stigmatised or discriminated against. Rather, they deserve our compassion, care and support," she added.
She called on leaders in all sectors to do their part to limit the spread of HIV.
"If our leaders — political, religious, business, non-governmental, community, district and all others — individually and collectively do their part, I am convinced that we can change the course of this epidemic and limit its impact on the development effort in Ghana," she noted.
The President of Yada da Allah, Mrs Mariam Yussif, said the main aim of the workshop for opinion leaders in the Muslim community was to sensitise them to the virus and what they could do to prevent it.
She added that stigmatisation of HIV/AIDs patients was very rampant in communities, hence the need to reach out to the leaders of the communities to enable them to disseminate the message to the people.
Story: Fauziatu Adam
Current estimates indicate that 267,000 Ghanaians, including 25,000, children are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the International Health Care Centre (IHCC).
What is even frightening is that 2,500 Ghanaians are infected with the virus and 2,000 deaths are recorded annually.
Dr Naa Ashiley Vanderpuije, a health expert at the IHCC which manages AIDS cases, made this known at a workshop organised on HIV/AIDS for opinion leaders in Muslim communities in Accra.
The workshop was funded by the African Women's Fund and initiated by Yada da Allah, a Muslim women’s outreach organisation, and the Muslim Women and AIDS Association of Ghana.
The estimates are consistent with projections by the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) from 2009 to 2015.
In its National HIV Prevalence and AIDS Estimates 2009-2015 Report, the NACP projected that the country's HIV prevalence was expected to rise gradually from 267,069 in 2009 to 280,219 in 2011.
That is due to the combined effects of population growth and an increasing number of HIV-infected persons who are living on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
According to the report, 22,177 new infections were registered in 2009, while 20,313 AIDS deaths were recorded, with 26,150 new infections and 17,046 deaths being projected for 2011.
Addressing the workshop, Dr Vanderpuije said people living with the virus could also play an important role in limiting its spread and, therefore, stigmatising them would not help them progress in society.
"They can help prevent further infections and improve the quality of their own lives through positive behavioural change. People who have HIV but who are not yet ill can live full and productive lives. People living with HIV/AIDs should not be stigmatised or discriminated against. Rather, they deserve our compassion, care and support," she added.
She called on leaders in all sectors to do their part to limit the spread of HIV.
"If our leaders — political, religious, business, non-governmental, community, district and all others — individually and collectively do their part, I am convinced that we can change the course of this epidemic and limit its impact on the development effort in Ghana," she noted.
The President of Yada da Allah, Mrs Mariam Yussif, said the main aim of the workshop for opinion leaders in the Muslim community was to sensitise them to the virus and what they could do to prevent it.
She added that stigmatisation of HIV/AIDs patients was very rampant in communities, hence the need to reach out to the leaders of the communities to enable them to disseminate the message to the people.
