More than 30 million people living with HIV and AIDS - USAIDS

Accra, Aug. 5, GNA - It is estimated that more than 30 million people worldwide are living with HIV and AIDS while 7,000 people are infected dail= y due to unprotected sex and other factors.

Fifty per cent of those living with the disease are not aware of their HIV status because they have neither been tested nor began showing signs an= d symptoms of the disease. Dr Leopold Zekeng, Country Representative of USAIDS, who was speaking at a media dialogue in Accra on HIV and AIDS on Thursday, noted that only 6.6 million of those infected with the disease had access to antiretroviral drugs. "It is worth noting that 22 countries in Africa, including Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, have been able to put about 80 per cent of infected mothers on antiretroviral drugs thereby reducing mother-to-child infections," he said. Dr Zekeng called for more access to antiretroviral drugs as it had the potential to reduce infection by 96 per cent and also suppress early symptoms of the disease.

He noted that although Ghana had attained a middle income status, this could be derailed if issues pertaining to HIV/AIDS were not holistically addressed. Dr Zekeng urged journalists to report on both positive and negative issues pertaining to the diseases and use appropriate statistics in their reportage.

"Journalists should not always dwell on the effects of HIV/AIDS but also how organizations are helping to combat it," he said. He called on the media to desist from using derogatory words in their reportage as such words had their own way of stigmatizing infected people. "Journalists should refrain from using phrases such as 93AIDS victi= ms" but rather 93Persons Living with AIDS" in order to reduce stigmatization= .. Dr Richard Ameyah, Technical Director, Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), organizers of the dialogue, noted that the Commission had developed a National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan (NSP) aimed at addressing all issues pertaining to the disease by 2015.

Some of these include reducing new HIV infections, leverage treatment as a prevention strategy, eliminating mother=96to-child transmission, scali= ng up treatment and care for Persons Living with HIV and mitigating the socio-economic impact of the disease.

He said the NSP on HIV/AIDS would also pay special attention to prostitutes, prisoners, people who injected drugs and Men Sleeping with Men (MSM) or homosexuals. Attention would also be paid to the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Eastern Regions due to high prevalence rate. "More attention would also be given to the Western Region due to the oil find and the possibility of people migrating to settle there," he added. He urged PLWHs not to feel shy but come out to seek treatment in antiretroviral drugs in order to prolong their lives as it had been proven to be very effective.

He said the GAC was working assiduously to reduce the number of infected persons in the country by 50 per cent and called on the donor community to assist the Commission in its quest for financial assistance fo= r its programmes. "We also hope to increase access to antiretroviral drugs from 30.5 p= er cent in 1999 to 85 per cent in 2015."

Dr Amenyah urged the media to monitor the works of the Commission to ensure that it did not derail from its goals and objectives. Dr Angela El-Adas, Director-General, GAC, noted that the aim of the dialogue was to train journalists to be able to adequately educate the public on issues pertaining to HIV and AIDS in the country.

She pledged the Commission's continuous assistance to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) by sponsoring the 93Health Journalist of the Year Category" during its annual awards ceremony. Mr Affail Monney, GJA Vice President, called on the media to avoid sensationalism in their reportage and focus on reporting on issues based on facts. He praised the Commission for the programme as it would enable journalists to report adequately on the disease.