Unite to fight HIV/AIDS - Expert

The Eastern Regional Focal Person on HIV/AIDS, Ms Golda Asante has observed that, no governmental agency, donor or life group of donors could match what Ghanaians could do when they come together to fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.

She said each Ghanaian could make a difference and urged every Ghanaian to volunteer to care for the sick or help with an education programme on HIV/AIDS and advised that the issue should first start with an individual resolution not to get infected with the disease.

Ms Asante was speaking at The Eastern Regional Red Cross Strengthening HIV/AIDS Programmes in Education second award day at Koforidua on Friday.

The Strengthening of HIV/AIDS Programmes in Education (SHAPE 11) was a programme which involved the training of school children to enable them to help in educating their peers in school on HIV/AIDS.

She said for all the fear that it engenders life, there was the need to recognized that HIV/AIDS is powerless against well-informed persons making the right decisions.

Ms Asante said HIV/AIDS poses a major challenge to the country's development because it has the capacity to cut short the lives of the major productive citizens of the country and remain a threat to people of all ages.

She congratulated the outstanding schools and peer educators for their wonderful performance.

The Eastern Regional Chairman of the Ghana Red Cross, Mrs Elizabeth Obeng-Yeboah said since the Phase I of the SHAPE Project in 2001, it had trained 98 peer educators, 7248 students and 40 teachers.

She said 56 parents were also trained in HIV/AIDS advocacy as part of efforts being made to help reduce HIV/AIDS spread in the country.

Awards and prizes were presented to deserving students and schools.