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Public urged to get tested and treated to end HIV and Aids
The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Stephanie Sullivan has encouraged the public to get tested and treated, as an important step towards ending HIV and AIDs.
According to her, AIDS was no longer a death sentence if people got tested, knew their status and sustained themselves on treatment, adding that persons living with HIV (PLHIV) abandoning treatment would have their viral load unsuppressed, which could cause the person to be sick or lose his or her life.
“People starting and remaining on treatment prevent the spread of HIV and once the person continues to be sustained on treatment, it would get to a point where the individual’s viral load becomes undetectable, which means that the test cannot detect the virus hence the individual cannot transmit to another person although extremely small amount of HIV would still be present in the blood.”
Ms Sullivan was speaking at the closing of a four-week intensive virtual training on HIV and COVID-19 Anti Stigma Campaign, organised by the United States President Emergency Programme for AIDS relief (PERFA) in collaboration with African Centre for Development Reporting and Media Healthlink for some selected journalists across the country.
The training, was to build the capacity of the journalists to enhance their reportage to better inform the public on HIV issues towards achieving the UNAIDS fast tract goal 95-95-95.
Ms Sullivan said the introduction of the one dose antiretroviral drug a day instead of two dozes was heart-warming, “knowing that when one is sustained on treatment for six or more continuous months, he or she does not transmit the virus through sex”.
The US Ambassador to Ghana, urged the media to raise awareness on the “test and treat programme” in order to improve the lives of PLHIV.
“Your continuous coverage presented in a non- technical way and your ability to help your audience to clearly understand the key difference between when the person is on treatment or not will be critical to improving the public health of the country as well as save many lives.
She said explaining HIV and AIDS issues to the ordinary people to understand would also help to address issues of stigma and discrimination as well as encourage PLHIV to take advantage of the available HIV services.
Ms Sullivan said the US government and the government of Ghana have worked
hand-in-hand over the years to improve HIV epidemic control and would continue to remain deeply committed to working with the government to extend key population’s access to quality, stigma-free, live saving HIV prevention, testing and treatment services.
The PERFA Media Specialist, Dzid Kwame recounted that huge investment have been made by the US government in previous years through PEPFAR in areas including capacity building, as well as in the testing and treatment of PLHIV.
She stated that it was necessary to speak about HIV and AIDS, especially in the era of COVID-19 so that the focus to achieve the 95-95_95 UN fast -track goal of ending AIDS by 2030 was not shifted.
She urged the media to continue to educate the public to enable them understand HIV issues, get tested and sustain themselves on treatment, adding that it would help achieve the goals set by 2030.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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