HIV/AIDS education should not be discriminatory -Nurse

Kumasi, April 16, GNA - Mrs Vivian Addo-Cobia, Principal Nursing Officer in-charge of the Maternity Department of the Kumasi South Hospital, has called for equal HIV/AIDS education for boys and girls. She said the traditional belief that girls were more vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS disease than boys was not true and had to be discarded. Mrs Addo-Cobbia was speaking at the first quarterly "Daddy's Forum" for the year of the Kumasi South Hospital at Kyirapatre on Friday, entreated non-governmental organisations (NGOs), traditional and religious authorities and other anti-HIV/AIDS campaigners to balance their education since the pandemic did not discriminate on the basis of gender.

The forum brings together couples with the view to sensitising them on reproductive health issues.

She urged anti-HIV/AIDS campaigners to continually sensitise the youth and encourage them to appreciate the need for attitudinal change, stressing that, it was strange that the youth who knew more about the disease were the most vulnerable.

Mrs Addo-Cobbia called on pregnant women to seek early voluntary counselling test to know their status and help save their unborn babies from contracting the disease.

This early test, she said, was important since there were improved medical facilities to prevent HIV infected pregnant mothers from transmitting the disease to their unborn babies. Dr Frank Abebrese, Medical Superintendent in-charge of the Hospital, said studies had shown that investing in adolescent sexual reproductive health led to positive results, adding that, the hospital would continue to sensitise couples to learn more about their sexuality.