Media practitioners schooled on HIV, AIDS reporting in Volta

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The Director of Policy Planning, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Sylvia Anie Akoetey, has stressed the need for a modern approach and policy direction, that would attract people to voluntarily offer themselves for counseling and testing, in order to know their HIV status.

She said the Commission, in collaboration with the relevant bodies, had established counselling and testing centres all over the country, but people were not willing to know their HIV status.

Dr. Akoetey was speaking at a workshop, organized by the League of HIV and AIDS Reporters in Ghana, for media practitioners in the Volta Region at Ho, on how to report effectively on HIV-related issues in the country.

She explained that even though people were aware of the effects of the HIV disease, more needed to be done, to focus and direct education on attitudinal and behavioral change, which is necessary in reducing the infection rate of the disease.

Dr. Akoetey said only seven per cent of the Ghanaian population, went for counselling and testing, adding that working in the areas of HIV control, should not be seen as the sole responsibility of the Commission, but a collective responsibility of all.

She mentioned chiefs, queenmothers, district and municipal assemblies, as well as coordinating councils, as some key stakeholders that could organize educational programmes in their areas, to ensure that people went for voluntary testing.