GHANA: Virgins speak out on AIDS

Members of the Ejisu Virgins Club and pupils from local primary and secondary schools marched through Anwomoso this week campaigning against discrimination against AIDS victims.

The World Vision funded campaign featured a brass band and dancing. Marchers distributed handbills warning people on the dangers of AIDS. Children carried placards with inscriptions such as “AIDS is real”, “Show love to people with AIDS”, “Love your neighbour as yourself” and "God loves the one who has AIDS".

Members of the virgins’ club spoke about the need to abstain from casual sex and refuted the contention there are no more virgins in Ghana.

School children sang: “We are the future of the world / stay away from casual sex.”

The campaign targeted school children and the youth of Anwomaso, Ashanti region, which has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS cases in the country.

World Vision director Kwame Adow told marchers World Vision’s HOPE Initiative seeks to remove stigmatisation, curb the spread of infection, educate and inform people about the pandemic.

“As we seek to raise the living standards of the people among whom we work, we also need to recognise the fact that the Ashanti region has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS. If nothing is done about this all the people will be lost to the disease and our development efforts will be useless,” Mr. Adow said.

He asked community leaders to step up efforts to reduce stigmatisation and discrimination against AIDS victims, which he said was a major barrier to voluntary counselling and testing.

Ashanti regional health co-ordinator Michael Boamey said 2,495 new cases of HIV/AIDS infections were recorded in the Ashanti region between January and September this year.