CENSUDI staff schooled on HIV/AIDS

AS PART of it efforts to promoting the health and welfare of its employees, partners and beneficiaries, the Centre for Sustainable Development Initiative (CENSUDI), a grassroots non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Bolgatanga, has organised a two-day sensitisation workshop on the dangers and risks associated with the lethal HIV/AIDS.

Briefing Upper East File, the Director of CENSUDI, Madam Francisca Issaka, said the organisation was committed to promoting a supportive working environment and the creation of conditions to minimise the social, economic and developmental consequences of HIV/AIDS on staff and beneficiaries.

She noted that since the establishment of the organisation in 1994, it has being working with 40 communities in the region, educating people on the dangers, risks, and negative impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and how the disease could be prevented or managed.

However, staff of the organisation, who were doing the education also needed more knowledge on the disease for their own consumption, since they could also be infected.

Thus, there was the need for them to know more about the disease, its implications and their status, so that they could live healthy lifestyles.

This, according to Madam Issaka, was what informed the decision to organise the workshop to sensitise employees, partners and beneficiaries of the organisation.

She hinted that the organization would soon set up a day to be known as 'CENSUDI AIDS Day'. The purpose of the concept was to encourage staff to use the day to check their HIV status, through counseling and testing.

The Head of HIV/AIDS Programme of Christian Aid, Dr. Baggley Rachel, who was the main resource person, told the participants that “no adult can really plan their future without knowing their HIV status.”

Christian Aid is a leading British Christian Development Agency working in more than 50 countries including Southern, Eastern and Western Africa, to challenge poverty and its causes.

With its headquarters in the United Kingdom, Christian Aid works with over 200 local organisations to prevent the spread of HIV, and helps people living with the disease.

Dr. Baggley said according to the World Health Organisation (WHO's) sentinel report, about 260,000 Ghanaians were living with HIV/AIDS.

A greater number of these people did not know they that they were infected with the disease, a situation which had contributed to the high infection rate in the country.

She regretted that being a married woman in Africa was one of the biggest risks of contracting HIV, because men have multiple partners.

Dr. Baggley said malaria in pregnant women could make the placenta leakier, thereby increasing the chances of an unborn baby getting HIV/AIDS. She advised HIV/AIDS patients to avoid the intake of too much sugar and starch, and unhygienic conditions which she said could worsen the health status of a patient.

Infected persons on the antiretroviral drugs should also take their dosages as prescribed by doctors, if not, the viruses could become resident to the drugs, and this could lead to getting to the second line antiretroviral drug stage, which was very expensive.

The doctor also advised that two partners living with the disease should always use a condom when having sex, because one of the partners could have resident HIV/AIDS, while the other does not, but when they have sex without a condom the former could be transmitted to the latter.

Blood, breast milk, virginal and penis fluids were mentioned as the four main body fluids that contain the virus.

Touching on HIV workplace policy, Dr. Baggley said based on Christian Aid policy, there should be a policy statement which should illustrate organisation's commitment to equality in employment, and treatment of employees in a respectful and dignified manner, to ensure HIV positive employees are not discriminated against, and have equal rights and prospects as other employees, and preventing HIV transmission, challenging discrimination and the stigma and reduction of the impact of HIV.

Others included carrying out assessment of HIV risk posed to employees, dealing with staff showing prejudice and discrimination towards HIV positive employees, HIV testing for employees, guidelines for the counseling and testing of staff, with information on the type of the services and support available for staff.

In consonance with the International Labour Organisation code and Ghana Aids Commission workplace policy, the Head of Programmes for CENSUDI, Mr. Robert Alaskomah, disclosed that the organisation had developed an HIV/AIDS workplace policy and implementation plan.

At the end of the sensitisation workshop, Madam Issaka told this paper that she had learnt a lot, especially when Dr. Baggley revealed that HIV positive persons could marry and have children who could be protected from getting the disease through modern scientific/laboratory screening and treating of the virus.

Mr. Jacob Ubindam, a staff, was full of praise to the organisation, having learnt a lot from the workshop, and suggested that similarly programmes be organised periodically to educate the staff.