AIDS causes 30% of adult deaths in Ghana

About 30 per cent of adult deaths in Ghana are caused by HIV/AIDS, Dr. Phyllis Antwi of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon said on Thursday.

Addressing the business session of the 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) currently taking place at Koforidua Dr Antwi said the ages of the victims range between 15 and 49 years.

She announced that 43,587 people have died from the disease between 1986 and December 2000 and warned that about 344,000 people would die from HIV/AIDS by the year 2014, if strenuous efforts were not made to check its spread.

She mentioned in particular, the increasing spread of genital herpes infection, which she said, could fuel the spread of the HIV/AIDS disease and appealed to doctors to carefully examine patients who might report Sexually -Transmitted Diseases (STDs) to them.

Dr. Antwi who was speaking on the topic "HIV pandemic: The situation in Ghana", said currently there are 22 "sites" in various parts of the country, which collate consistent and accurate information on the disease, adding that the Eastern Region is still leading in the prevalence rate.

A member of the National Aids Commission, Mrs Brigitte Katsriku said, the government was committed to the implementation of plans and policies that would help minimise the spread of the pandemic.

She said currently, the District Response Initiative (DRI) was working in 42 districts and hoped it would spread to the remaining 68 districts by the year 2002.

Mrs Katsriku appealed to herbalists who claim to have found cure for the disease to make their preparations available for validation test to determine their efficacy in combating the disease.

In an address read on his behalf, the Minister of Education, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, expressed concern about the increasing rate of the disease among the productive age group, most of whom he said include teachers, students, pupils and educational workers.

He said his ministry had committed more resources into the school health programme and is working in partnership with all stakeholders to minimise its spread in the country.

Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi who was presenting a paper on his ministry's strategies for combating the spread of the disease, said the focus had been the provision of information to both teachers and students.

Prof. A. F. Aryee of the Population Impact Project (PIP) of the University of Ghana, Legon, called for concerted effort to minimise the stigmatisation and discrimination against those associated with the disease.