342,304 HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana, caused by high risk sex among youth- AIDS Commission

Ghana AIDS Commission has raised alarm after its data shows that the high risk sexual activities among the youth is the major cause of the rising HIV/AIDS infection rate.

Currently, about 342, 304 persons are living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana.

According to Programme Manager of National/STI Control Programme, Dr. Stephen Ayisi Addo, a shocking 80% of HIV/AIDS cases in Ghana is caused by sexual intercourse because older people courting youngsters.

“You find older people with money taking advantage of young people, having sex with them in return for Monday. It is an economic issue where young ones are depending on the older men or women with the cash to survive whilst offering sex for it”.

Apart from that, Dr. Ayisi Addo noted that “Ghana Health Service has less than one month stock of condoms and we have to fall on external entities for condoms”.

For me, “Ghana Education Service should make the study of HIV/AIDS as part of the school’s curricular or syllabus so the students are thought about it towards prevention. That has been our suggestion. For now, the schools will not allow you to teach students about HIV/AIDS because they think you are simply coming to teach them how to use condoms, particularly the religious schools”.

Meanwhile, Programme Manager of National/STI Control Programme, Dr. Stephen Ayisi Addo is warning patients who deliberately transmit HIV/AIDS virus to others can be prosecuted under the laws of Ghana.

Contributing to the debate, HIV/AIDS Ambassador Rev. John Azumah says the “biggest challenge in the sensitisation drive on HIV/AIDS are the roadblocks we face at schools where they hardly permit those of us tasked with the responsibility to scale up education for prevention. That is part of the problem”.

Source: africaneditors.com