First Lady launches SAAFC in Kumasi

Kumasi, Feb. 20, GNA- The First Lady, Mrs Theresa Kufuor, has called for a greater support to individuals and NGOs, which are working to bring relief to children who are infected with HIV/AIDS by their parents

She said in a developing country like Ghana, the task of caring for victims of the HIV/AIDS had become more difficult due to poverty and underdevelopment and it was necessary to encourage individuals and groups who took initiatives to support vulnerable children who had been in one way or the other, affected by the disease.

Mrs Kufuor made the call at the launch of the Serwah Ampem AIDS Foundation for Children (SAAFC) in Kumasi on Friday.

The Foundation, which is an initiative of Lady Julia Osei Tutu, the wife of the Asantehene, aimed at providing care, love, affection and hope to the growing number of children infected with and affected by the HIV/AIDS in Ghana.

Mrs Kufuor said HIV/AIDS, which had been described as a disease of mass destruction, was threatening the existence of the human race. She said 35,000 children in Ghana were currently leaving with the HIV virus, while 300,000 children, had been orphaned by the disease. Mrs Kufuor said Ashanti region had 30 percent of the total number of 360,000 people infected with the disease in Ghana, adding that, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), recorded 16 new cases of the disease everyday.

She said the formation of the foundation would bring relief to children infected with the disease and called on all Ghanaians to support it to succeed.

Lady Julia Osei Tutu, Executive Director of the Foundation, said HIV/AIDS had become a household challenge and every Ghanaian should show greater concern about it.

She said awareness on the disease had been very extensive, but a lot more challenges existed.

Lady Osei Tutu said SAAFC was her modest contribution to bring relief to children who had been infected and affected by the disease. Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoah, Chairman of the Ghana AIDS Commission, who chaired the function, said the disease had brought many orphans into the Ghanaian society.

He said the involvement of traditional leaders in the national response against the disease was very important and commended Lady Osei Tutu for the initiative.

Professor Awuku Amoah called for the development of appropriate information and education for the youth.