HIV menace on the rise

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.

A Poly Inaugurates Competency-Based Resource Centre

Story: Fauziatu Adam

Accra Polytechnic has inaugurated a GH¢35,000 Competency Based Training (CBT) resource centre to enhance the training of middle-level, career-focused students who are equipped with skills and competence for the work environment.

The centre was financed by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), an independent government agency in Japan that provides technical co-operation and other forms of aid to developing countries.

The CBT, which promotes practical training instead of theoretical learning, ensures that all learners gain the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes or values to be successful in the learning environment and the workplace, particularly in the industrial sector.

An important characteristic of CBT is that it is focused not only on the actual jobs that are required in the workplace, but also the ability to transfer and apply skills, knowledge and attitudes to new situations and environments.

The assessment of competency of a learner under CBT is not about passing or failing someone, but the assessor's role is to work with the individual to ensure that sufficient evidence is collected to establish competence that meets the required standard.

Inaugurating the centre, the Director of the school, Dr Festus Addo-Yobo, said the school needed more committed and motivated staff with the needed competence to teach, using examples and relating theory to practice.

He said another major challenge was developing skills in the use of equipment or technique that requires the students to have access to the equipment and resources needed by polytechnics to provide the equipment for students to practice their skills before they are identified as competent.

He acknowledged the support of JICA which donated a Robust Photocopier Machine, a Camcorder, set of office furniture, Hydraulic Simulator, among others for the school.

He assured JICA that the institute would continue to ensure the efficient training of middle-level, career-focused and hands-on skilled power.

The Chief Representative of JICA Ghana, Jiro Inamura, expressed her appreciation to members of staff and students of the school for their support to the Japanese disaster-hit victims.

She expressed optimism that the centre would be used to disseminate the CBT methods to other vocational training institutions in a sustainable manner.