Fanteakwa second in HIV prevalence nationwide

Begoro, Aug. 27, GNA - The Fanteakwa District has now moved from the third position to second position in the HIV prevalence nationwide following a high rate of reported cases.

The district shares that position with the Wenchi District in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The Fanteakwa District Director of Health Services, Dr Frederick Kwame Ofosu, disclosed this at the mid-year Performance Review meeting of health workers in the district at Begoro on Thursday.

Dr. Ofosu expressed concern that despite efforts by various HIV/AIDS committees, Community-Based Organization, NGOs and churches to educate the people on the hazards of the disease, the district's prevalence rate was now 6.8 percent as against the Eastern Region's rate of 6.5 percent and the national rate of 3.1 per cent.

He said out of 39 patients screened between January and June, this year, 25 proved HIV positive while, eight out of 134 blood donors also proved HIV positive.

Dr Ofosu said the district made the region proud at the Annual Regional Performance Review meeting held at Koforidua in February by recording zero maternal death last year.

He regretted that the district would not be able to maintain the record of zero maternal death this year, since one maternal death was recorded in June this year following the ill health of the only doctor at the hospital who was then at admission at the time Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

Dr Ofosu said malaria cases among pregnant women and children above five years was on the increase despite the distribution of insecticide treated mosquito nets to the people at subsidized prices noting that cases among children above five years decreased.

He said TB cases were also on the increase, while abortion cases have decreased drastically.

Dr Ofosu commended the Fanteakwa District Assembly for assisting to promote health programmes, especially, the National Immunisation Days, recorded 99.8 per cent and 103.3 per cent in the first and second rounds of coverage respectively this year.

The Administrator of the Begoro District Hospital, Nana Kwame Ampadu-Agyei, said the hospital realized 498 million cedis by June, this year, as internally generated income and spent 470 million cedis. He said the workload at the hospital had increased following the implementation of the District Health Insurance Scheme in June this year.

Nana Ampadu-Agyei noted, however, that the implementation of the scheme would affect the internal income generation of the hospital since hospital bills would not be paid promptly.

He appealed to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health Services (GHS) to post additional doctors to the hospital to improve on the health delivery status in the district.