Some 500,000 HIV infected people unaware of their HIV status

Koforidua, Nov 26, GNA - A member of the National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NACP), Dr. Agnes W. Dzokoto, has said it is estimated that over 500,000 people who are infected with the HIV virus in the country are unaware of their HIV status.

She said many of the affected people become aware of their HIV status only when the disease has progressed to "symptomatic stage" or even full-blown AIDS with the onset of complications.

Dr Dzokoto said this at the commissioning of a 51-million-cedi refurbished Koforidua Mother and Child Centre to be used as the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS Centre (PMCT) for the New Juaben Municipality.

The funds for the refurbishment was provided by the NACP and the New Juaben Municipal Assembly, while the NACP provided a television set, a DVD recorder, a split air-condition and a desktop computer and printer.

Dr Dzokoto explained that the aim for the introduction of such intervention was to prevent new HIV infections and to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals within the Municipality that has an HIV prevalence rate of 8.5 per cent, higher than the national average of 3.4 per cent.

She said VCT allowed for early detection of the HIV status of people for those who test positive to be placed on the "appropriate conditions."

Dr Dzokoto said with financial support from Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, the NACP had establish 18 VCT and PMCT sites in the country and would continue to establish more of such centres within the next two years to ensure access to VCT sites in every part of the country.

The New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Nana Kwesi Adjei-Boateng, said the issue of HIV/AIDS is a major challenge to the Municipality and therefore, expressed his appreciation to the NACP for their support in the establishment of the centre.

He said the major worry of the people in the Municipality is that despite the enormous efforts and resources being put into the fight against the spread of the disease statistics indicate that the infection rate is still on the increase.

Nana Adjei-Boateng said, this year, the Municipal Assembly has spent over 26 million cedis while the Ghana AIDS Commission has supported the Municipality with over 145 million cedis in its fight against HIV/AIDS.