Development and AIDS cannot be bedfellows

The Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiative (PSI), Ms Gifty Ohene-Konadu says overcoming the AIDS menace is a prerequisite to achieve the country's socio-economic development goals.

She has therefore called on Ghanaians to assist government efforts to reverse the trend in the HIV/AIDS menace to build a strong human resource base for the country.

Ms Ohene-Konadu made the call when addressing the opening session of the annual Hall Week celebration of Amaniampong Hall of Asante-Mampong Campus of University of Education, Winneba (UEW).

The celebration was on the theme “HIV/AIDS, A Threat to Ghana's Human Resource Development”.

She said the quality of human resource base of every nation was the key to its development, adding “Countries like Japan, Singapore and Malaysia with limited natural resources have become economically and politically powerful because they developed a solid human resource base.”

Mr Michael Frempong, Hall President, called on Government to review funds allocated for non-traditional agricultural projects of the University.

He noted that globally, the economies of most developed countries depended on agriculture therefore sustainable agriculture was indispensable in a developing country like Ghana.