The group believes that failure to stay on course with preventive steps which have so far seen the reduction and a subsequent control of the virus will be disastrous on the health of victims and the population at large.

Speaking after a media engagement in Takoradi on the theme “strengthening availability and accessibility of HIV commodities in the Western Region”, the Chief Executive Officer of Life Relief Foundation, Cecelia Oduro, underscored the need for a sustained campaign against the virus.

She explained that “looking at the trends and the global response to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, there must be a wake-up call to the Government of Ghana, the Ghana Health Services, Ghana Aids Commission and the National Aids Control Programme to guarantee People Living with HIV an uninterrupted supply of Antiretroviral Treatments. They should have access and this access must be sustained through a lifelong commitment”.

The global response targets a 90:90:90 agenda which will come to an end in 2030.

Mrs. Oduro said for Ghana to achieve this target “what this means is that, 90 percent of the Ghanaian populace should know their HIV status, 90 percent of positive cases should be put on antiretroviral Treatments, and the same 90 percent must have access and sustained treatment until they get viral suppression”.

This call for an increase and sustained supply of the Antiretroviral Treatments, according to Mrs. Oduro, is because “we know that it is only 37 percent of people living with HIV [in Ghana] are on antiretroviral treatments. So if it is going to be 90 percent, then it means there should be an increased adequate supply of stocks.”

The fight against the disease may not be won in Ghana because “donors are cutting down their support towards the fight and government’s counterpart funding is also inadequate.”

Mrs. Oduro urged all stakeholders to revive the fighting spirit against the virus so as to contain the spread and “if possible, eradicate the epidemic in Ghana completely.”

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The region has the highest prevalence rate of 2.7%.

The Sunyani Municipality, the regional capital, is the urban area in the country with the highest prevalence rate of 4.2%, an indication that the 2016 HIV Sentinel Survey puts the region in the lead of HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the country.

These statistics were revealed by the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, at a meeting with members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), Heads of Department/Agencies, Municipal/District Chief Executives and Traditional Authorities of the region on Thursday.

“The region has the highest HIV prevalence rate of 2.7% in the country along with Volta region, and Sunyani municipality where I stay is the urban area in Ghana with the highest prevalence rate of 4.2%. So Brong Ahafo is leading the HIV/AIDs pandemic.”

He therefore called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to address the pandemic that has the potential to affect the quality of the country’s much needed human resource for development and economic transformation.

He said the region only have a total of 792 health facilities including hospitals, clinics, health centres, maternity homes and CHPs, to render health care services, and lamented logistical challenges, lack of staff, high neonatal mortality rates, and increasing rate of teenage pregnancies, which he said puts pressure on the limited facilities thereby affecting quality healthcare delivery in the region.

On the performance of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Minister said as at September, 2016, the scheme had a total active membership of 718,444 as against a total active membership of 731,682 in September 2017, an increase of 1.8%.

He added that the number of health service providers as at September 2017, increased to 481 from 430 in September 2016, a situation that demonstrates a renewal of people’s confidence in the scheme.

Sanitation

Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh revealed a 244 million US dollar master-plan by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), to construct a new treatment plant with the capacity of 10.3million gallons of water per day on the Tano River, to promote water sufficiency in the region to support the Abesim, Tanoso, Biaso and Berekum head pumps, which supply only 3.2 million gallons a day to most areas of districts in the region.

He noted that the Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Project (SRWSP), Chinese Assisted Water Project and Social Investment Fund Water Project, implemented by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, will complement the quality water needs of residents.

The Regional Minister however expressed worry about the indiscriminate disposal of waste, and tasked the assemblies and institutions to do more in the management of waste in their areas.

“All around us, we see piled up refuse, choked gutters and drains which cumulatively lead to health problems of our people and expose the weakness in our environmental and sanitation management efforts of the assemblies. Let’s take a serious look at our sanitation management strategies and involve all stakeholders”, he emphasized.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dubbed “Informing the Messengers”, the regional workshop organized by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), saw the selected journalists enlightened on the new emergency plan that seeks to  accelerate the HIV response in Central and West Africa.

According to UNAIDS, at time when the global response to HIV is accelerating, millions of people in Western and Central Africa are being left behind, hence the need  for an urgent response that supports countries in a trajectory to meet the global target to end AIDS.

Figures from the global body show that while the world witnessed significant progress, with 57% of all people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 46% of all people living with HIV accessing treatment and 38% of all people living with HIV experiencing viral load suppression in 2015, countries in West and Central Africa achieved only 36%, 28% and 12%, respectively, in the same period.

It is estimated that in the 25 countries of West and Central Africa, 6.5 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2015, including 500 000 children. The region accounted for 18% of the global HIV burden, despite having only 6% of the global population.

West and Central Africa has an HIV treatment gap of 4.7 million people. Only 1.8 million people living with HIV were on antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2015. This sharply contrasts with figures from Eastern and Southern Africa, which had a treatment coverage of 54% in 2015.

Again, while nine in 10 pregnant women have access to treatment in Eastern and Southern Africa, only five women in 10 do in West and Central Africa, despite there being fewer people living with HIV in the region.

The HIV Catch-Up Plan which is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), is a political instrument and a compact between countries and the international community that supports countries’ strategies and plans to quickly address bottlenecks.

It is to supplement national strategies and existing plans with the aim of increasing antiretroviral treatment uptake and saving lives. It also aims to put an additional 1.2 million people living with HIV in Central and West Africa,  under treatment by the end of 2018.

The new catch-up plan was adopted by the Heads of State and Governments at the 29th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.

The two-day workshop in Dakar, Senegal, had representatives from the African-American and African Diaspora Press in the USA, and high level UNAIDS officials, including some UNAIDS Country Directors.

Journalists were taken through interactive presentations and open discussions on the need to scale up the response to HIV in the region

Speaking at the event, the Regional Director of UNAIDS for Western and Central Africa, Dr. Djibrill Diallo, said the workshop was to brief media practitioners on the current situation of HIV and AIDS in the region, and also to offer them the platform to network, and better inform the public on  this new catch-up plan, which is an  essential step towards reaching the global target of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

“This workshop highlights the importance UNAIDS gives to the communication dimension of all its actions and initiatives”.

He said communication is one of the 4 pillars of the Catch-up Plan alongside political mobilisation, fund raising and the programmatic dimension, stressing that  UNAIDS is  convinced that the media will play a fundamental role for the success of the Catch-Up Plan.

The Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of UNAIDS, was optimistic that   through the reports, inquiries and opinion pieces by journalists, the region can raise awareness among the populations of the region to change their behaviours and foster a positive dynamic to put an end to AIDS by 2030.

He noted that as part of the plan, a total of US$ 20 million has been reprogrammed in existing Global Fund grants to cover antiretroviral therapy needs. He said new funding from PEPFAR has also been negotiated by countries.

It is estimated that with this plan, at least 850 000 people, including 60 000 children, diagnosed as living with HIV but not yet enrolled in care will receive sustained high-quality antiretroviral therapy by mid-2018.

The plan also hopes to ensure that an additional 250 000 people living with HIV, including 60 000 children, who have been newly tested, know their HIV-positive status and are linked to sustained high quality antiretroviral therapy by mid-2018.

Ten  countries in West and Central Africa have already developed and implemented their catch-up plan. These plans were developed by the local national AIDS commissions and approved by the highest political authorities.

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By: Attah- Effah Badu/Daily Express Newspaper

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She said if community members do not change their attitude towards such persons, all the efforts aimed at improving their lives would be a farce.

Mrs Nuamah-Agyemang, made the call at a workshop organised by SEND-Ghana for coordinators of activities of the Participatory, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee under the People for Health (P4H) Project in some five districts of the Greater Accra Region.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Gy2UHNCeMjIqFuXWu0s5XYKyFE0RVzfW”]It was sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with support from Penplusbytes and the Ghana News Agency.

The workshop aimed at strengthening the capacity of the collaborating agencies such as the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, was to also improve their assessment on P4H projects in the communities, and come out with emerging issues.

It was also to help establish problems associated with stigmatization and discrimination against Persons living with HIV/AIDS, as well as the benefits of victims disclosing their health status to their relations.

Mrs Nuamah-Agyemang expressed the hope that the strengthening of monitoring and evaluation programmes, would have a positive effect on persons living with the disease.

She said although there had been various ways of educating the public, some people had ignored the advice, and continued with the stigmatization and discrimination.

Mrs Nuamah-Agyemang said the knowledge of HIV among the public was high, but stigma and discrimination was common, hence the need for the workshop to enable the coordinators to report on the activities they encountered during their meetings with the communities.

Miss Sandra Sakwabea, the Project Officer of SEND-Ghana, took the Committee members through their responsibilities to ensure that the right things were done.

New executive members were elected for the Committee with Mr Isaac Ampomah of La-Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly being elected as Chairman, while Madam Jane Oku of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, and Reverend John Azumah won the Vice Chairperson and Secretary positions respectively.

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Source: GNA

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Ghana has been relying heavily on donor support for the implementation of programmes to control the disease and this is raising serious questions about sustainability.

The call was contained in the Ghana National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) report that critically examined the level and flow of resources into the HIV/AIDS campaign in year 2014.

It put the total expenditure on the disease’s-related activities for that year at US$68,843,316 and out of this figure, 66 percent was contributed by multi-lateral organizations.

The report indicated that funds from the government accounted for just about 7 per cent with the remaining 27 coming from the private sector.

“This is consistent with the trend in the nation and other sub-Saharan African countries which relies heavily on donor funding to finance their HIV and AIDS related activities”, it added.

It underlined the need for the government to strengthen its efforts at mobilizing and channeling more funds into the campaign against the disease.

The report added that it was in the nation’s own interest to ensure quality services and availability of antiretroviral drugs for infected persons.

Ghana, it said, could not fail its commitment to tackle the phenomenon and that it needed to up its game amid the global recession and limited sources of funding for HIV/AIDS related programmes.

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Source: GNA

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According to the Public Relations Officer of the Service, DSP Vitalis Aryeh, the Ankaful Main Camp Prison which was a category B prison containing over 700 inmates now has close to 270.

Ghana’s prisons are largely known for congestion which poses a great threat to the health of the prisoners.

The Prisons Service has on several occasions appealed for support from government and other stakeholders to help ease the congestions and improve existing infrastructure.

Speaking to Citi News, DSP Aryeh stated that about 400 prisoners serving longer terms have been moved from the Ankaful Annex Prison to the Ankaful Maximum Prison to enable the Annex facility serve its original purpose of catering for prisoners on remand and those serving shorter sentences.

The PRO also disclosed that after successfully walling the Ankaful Main Camp Prison, more prisoners will then be transferred from the Western Region to the Central region to ensure the Prisons in Western region are decongested as well.

He explained that the transfer to the Camp Prison has not taken place because of security reasons saying, “that camp is not walled yet, when we wall it, it won’t become an open camp prison again, and it will be more secure to have longer serving prisoners and those on remand in there as well.”

He again assured that if the 2,000 capacity prison is completed in the not too distant future, it will ease a lot of congestion within the central and western regions.

By: Afiba Anyanzua Anyanzu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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