VCT centres to be extended - Official

Accra, Oct. 20, GNA - The Ghana AIDS Commission, together with a coalition of 11 public and private organisations is to train counsellors to assist in the establishment of Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) services across the country.

Under Ghana's five-year HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework Document, VCT services are to be established across the country by the year 2005, but there are only a few centres being run by major hospitals and non-governmental organisations.

Majority of Ghanaians, especially those in the districts, have to travel very far to regional hospitals to check their HIV status. The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, 37 Military and the Police Hospitals and a few non-governmental organisations such as the Family Health International and the West African AIDS Project are currently involved in running VCT centres.

The strategic document also supports the establishment of VCT services in both public and commercial laboratories by 2005 and the creation of awareness on VCT services at all levels.

Prof Sakyi Amoa, Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) told the GNA in an interview that one major reason for the slow start of VCT services was because the national response to the disease actually started recently after the disease was identified as a developmental rather than a health problem.

He said it was expected that when VCT counsellors have been trained each of the district hospitals would have five counsellors each. Prof. Amoa said TARSO, a Uganda-based training organization for HIV/AIDS, has prepared a manual for the training of counsellors.

He said as part of efforts to make VCT accessible, some non-governmental organisation such as, Family Health Organisation, had made VCT services available at the Agbogloshie Market in Accra, which would be attending to clients free of charge for the next two years.

Prof Amoa said the Danish Agency For International Development (DANIDA), had made available 150 kits and reagents for rapid HIV testing in the country.

Although VCT services are yet to be made more visible, it appears most people are not too keen on knowing their HIV status. According to Dr Godfried Asiamah, Programme Manager of the Ghana Police Service VCT Centre, people often sought VCT services for diagnostic purposes, travel or marriages.

He said fear was one major reason that kept people from going in for voluntary HIV/AIDS counselling and testing.

Figures made available to the GNA by the Police Hospital, for instance, indicated that many people who made enquiries at the hospital did not follow up to take part in the actual testing.

Out of 795 people, who called at the Police Hospital VCT Centre for enquiries between January and July this year, only 361 actually followed up to be tested, with 55 of this number testing positive.

VCT has been identified, world-wide, as a key component for HIV prevention and care programmes because it helps in promoting behavioural change while making it easier for an HIV positive person to access early management for opportunistic infections like tuberculosis and facilitates early referrals for clinical and social support.

Some Southern African countries such as South Africa and Zambia are gradually instituting VCT as part of their primary health-care package.