HIV AIDS
A SENIOR Nursing Officer with the Public Health Department of the Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital in Sunyani, Rita Adjoa Ansong says stigmatization against People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is a threat to the fight against the infections.
She said stigmatization contributed largely to spread of the pandemic and called for concerted efforts to end it.
Ms. Ansong mentioned this in Sunyani where she charged Ghanaians to refrain from discriminating against PLWHAs.
She said there was the need to create the enabling environment through counseling and public education on the harmful effects of stigmatization which would in turn encourage HIV victims to expose their status willingly thereby reducing its spread.
In a related development, an HIV/AIDS campaigner in the region, Kwabena Nketiah has called on employers to hire people living with HIV so that they too can live normal lives.
He said many people with HIV had been sacked from their jobs after they told their superiors their status. ?Many of them are strong but they have been sacked,? he said.
Mr. Nketiah said sacking PLWHIVs was not the answer saying employing them would help end discrimination and prolong their lives.
From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani
