By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Nov. 26, GNA – Ghanaians have been advised against stigmatising and discriminating against Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), to avoid the spread of the virus.
Ms Joanne Anorkor Lartey, the TB and HIV Coordinator at the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, said stigma against HIV and AIDS, had been recognised as the single greatest challenge to slowing the spread of the virus.
She stressed that stigma and discrimination were major barriers to epidemic control, preventing testing, treatment initiation, adherence to therapy, and promoting disengagement of patients from care.
She described stigma as unfavourable attitudes and beliefs directed towards someone, which was also a process of labelling people and separating oneself from them.
Ms Lartey further explained that some unconscious actions of stigmatising others could also cause fear in young people and prevent them from seeking key health information or support when they need it for fear of being judged or excluded if they ask questions about sex or HIV.
She indicated that discrimination was the treatment of an individual or group of people with partiality or prejudice due to their status, stigma, was related to attitudes and actions, choice of language, lack of knowledge and fear, as well as shame and blame.
The TB and HIV Coordinator cited the media, health services, workplaces, churches and other religious settings, within family and local communities, as settings where stigma and discrimination could easily occur.
She said HIV-related stigma could affect the emotional well-being and mental health of the PLHIV, which led to the development of a negative self-image such that they began to apply these wrong ideas to themselves, leading to feelings of shame, isolation and despair.
This, she explained, could keep people from accessing HIV care by not disclosing their status to others.
According to her, persons with HIV could also engage in self-stigmatisation, which refers to the negative attitudes, including internalised shame, that people with stigmatised conditions have about themselves.
She encouraged the public and health care providers to help address stigma by highlighting the positives, and recognising and acknowledging the inherent worth of PLHIV.
GNA