AIDS, leading cause of deaths in Korle Bu - GRNA

Mrs. Emma Banga, President of the Ghana Registered Nurses' Association, said on Monday that records at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital show a "distressing report that HIV/AIDS cases are the leading causes of admissions and deaths."

Speaking at the opening of a five-day workshop for nurses on HIV/AIDS management, Mrs Banga said Ghana's current prevalence rate of three to four per cent was expected to rise to 9.5 per cent by the year 2014 if nothing was done about the spread. It is estimated that 350,000 adults in Ghana are living with the virus. As at the end of October 2001, a total of 48,777 cases of AIDS were reported.

The workshop, organised by the Ghana Health Service is on the theme, "Making a difference - changing the way we work". It is aimed at assessing current nursing care practices and improving the skills of nurses in community support and care for HIV/AIDS patients.

Mrs Banga said quality nursing care of HIV and other patients was a challenge to Ghanaian nurses and called for support and motivation of health workers. Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Health, said the government, "having recognised the security implication of the HIV pandemic, is putting in place measures, not only to curb the spread of the disease, but also to ensure that those who have the virus are able to realise their full potential as citizens."

He said the Ministry of Health had reached an advanced stage of making available comprehensive care, including anti-retroviral medications for infected individuals. "The successful realisation of the objectives of this investment would require a corresponding high quality nursing care."

The minister noted that health care professionals, especially nurses, had come under a lot of criticisms for being insensitive, rude and "unresponsive" to their clients. "This unfortunate perception needs the serious consideration of all health care professional groupings and measures put in place to address it."

Dr Afriyie said the government's strategic health document concedes that people living with HIV have received less than the optimum quality health service delivery. The Minister called for close collaboration between the health sector and other sectors, such as the legal, religious and welfare services to offer a comprehensive support to patients, especially those living with the AIDS virus.

Mrs Bridget Katsriku, Executive Secretary of the Ghana AIDS Commission, expressed the hope that the workshop would help upgrade the skills of nurses and push the fight against AIDS forward.