Acting Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Mr Kyeremeh Atuahene, has advised celebrities, politicians and people of repute in Ghana, living with HIV to reveal their status. Mr Kyeremeh believes this act will help reduce stigmatisation against People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Ghana.
Speaking in an interview he cited Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a British Member of Parliament (MP), who boldly declared his status as a means to help curb the stigma HIV patients are subjected to.
Mr Atuahene said, “To curl stigma takes only courage on the part of the person living with HIV to really declare their status and live a normal life until that happens stigma will continue.”
To further drive home his point, he said, “We have politicians, celebrities, men and women in the media, lawyers, doctors, chiefs who live with HIV; they should lead the way for people to follow. Let’s encourage them because HIV is now a chronic disease.”
On World AIDS Day which falls on December 1st, the Ghana AIDS Commission revealed that about 170,000 adults living with the HIV/AIDS are not on treatment, and this accounts for more than 50% of the total number of persons living with HIV in Ghana.
“We need to look at the issues now because as a country we have come a long way,” Mr Atuahene said, blaming the outright blatant refusal of Ghanaians to prioritise HIV/AIDS and hence help prevent the spread of the virus in the country.
He further disclosed that the Commission in its bid to curb stigma against PLHIV has set plans on course to use community mode to distribute HIV Antiretroviral (ARVs).
“This removes the stigma associated with HIV clinics. So now we have a new stream of service delivery in some of the hospitals like Dixcove, Sunyani Regional Hospital, they have an integrated approach where all chronic diseases have one clinic. And those chronic diseases include HIV, so you go in there you do not know who has what,” he said.
Admonishing pharmacist and ‘drug sellers’, the Acting Director-General, made it clear it is highly illegal to sell or administer Antiretroviral drugs (AVRs) to PLHIV.
He says this undermines the government’s objective to make it affordable and accessible.
“It is not just about giving out the drug, it is also making sure that the patient tolerates the drug, it is also making sure that the patient is monitored on regular basis to ensure that the vital organs are all functioning normally” he explained.
In another disturbing revelation, Mr Atuahene said, women, account for about 65% of the total number of people living with HIV in Ghana.
“The goal is to end HIV/AIDS by 2030 and we must work together to achieve the 90-90-90 target,” He advised.
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