Aids: 400,000 Ghanaians Infected! 114,000 Already Dead

By Raymond Arazcher - GIJ Intern

Accra - Four hundred thousand Ghanaians between the ages of 15 and 49 are infected with the HIV virus, the Centre for Community Studies Action and Development(CENCOSAD) has disclosed.

Again, 114,000 people have died of AIDS since the first AIDS case was detected in 1986, the Centre stated.

Speaking at the celebration of this year's World AIDS Day in Accra organised by CENCOSAD and sponsored by UNICEF, the Executive Director, Dr. James Annorbah -Sarpei, said in 1997 alone 24,000 people died of AIDS.

Dr. Annorbah-Sarpei said he was worried that young Ghanaians, especially girls, had become the most vulnerable. "In one community in Kenya, for example, 22% of girls aged 15-19 were infected with HIV compared to 4% for boys," he added.

It was in view of this alarming picture that his organisation had teamed up with UNICEF to begin a programme of HIV/AIDS awareness prevention education in schools and communities within the Accra metropolis.

The Executive Director observed that CENCOSAD has been involved in sensitising the youth, especially school children, on responsible sexual behaviour.

On his part, Dr. Kenneth Aryeetey, senior medical officer at Ussher Clinic, Accra, said 200 Ghanaians are infected with HIV everyday, while 15% of every 100 people in Accra have HIV. "By 31st December, this year, about 50,000 people might have been infected with AIDS, he added.

Dr. Aryeetey revealed that 30% and 17% of every 100 people in Ashanti and Eastern regions respectively have HIV. If the escalating rate of infection continues, life expectancy in Ghana would reduce to 40 years, he warned

Commenting on efforts at controlling the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Ghana, Aryeetey noted that the $10 per person per year spent on the health of every Ghanaian is too small as compared to $9,000 in the advanced countries. He called on policy makers to adopt a more realistic approach towards combating the disease in Ghana.

The regional secretary of the Ghana Red Cross Society, Mr. Jacob Kwabena Mensah, disclosed that Ghana is now second to La Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa in HIV/AIDS infection. This shows the extent to which Ghanaians are at risk from AIDS, he pointed out.

Mensah said statistics indicate that out of every 10 people, nine do not know whether they are infected with HIV or not. It is a strong signal that people do not know much about their health status.

"It becomes a problem, therefore, if the bulk of the people who should form the country's labour force begin to be infected with HIV/AIDS. It needs the concerted effort of all to fight this AIDS problem", he added.

Mrs. Monique Kamptrius, UNICEF representative in Ghana for Community Based Development, advised the youth to avoid multiple partners and use condoms to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.