One million Ghanaians to die from AIDS

Available statistics from the Ministry of Health National AIDS /STD control programme indicates that one million Ghanaians would die from the AIDS pandemic by the year 2014, reports The Daily Guide.

This will result in a cumulative total of more than 1 million deaths.

The statistic also indicates that about 120 Ghanaians aged between 15-19 years will die from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) every single day of the year by 2009.

The report from the Ministry of Health (MOH) was made available to the press at a two-day workshop on HIV/AIDS organised by the Ghana Centre of International Pen in collaboration with the national HIV/AIDS STD’s programme.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr Ibrahim Napuli of the National AIDS Control Programme of the Ministry of Health said given the fact that the commonest mode of HIV transmission is through heterosexual contact, many couples will die and leave their children as AIDS orphans.

He explained that available statistics show that the number of AIDS orphans will rise rapidly from 28,000 in 1994 to over 600,000 by 2014.