By Evans Worlanyo Ameamu
Keta (V/R), Jan 21, GNA — The Keta Municipal Social Welfare Department has engaged stakeholders to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS prevention and reduce its prevalence in the municipality, currently at 1.25%, slightly below the national average of 1.6%.
Mr Robert Kotey Ashie, Social Welfare Personnel at Keta, told the Ghana News Agency that the engagement focused on strategic information, advocacy, and mitigating the socio-economic impact of HIV. The department monitors activities of NGOs, PMTCT/ART sites, and HIV School Alert Programmes to ensure effective implementation of interventions.
The advocacy meeting brought together chiefs, queen mothers, religious and opinion leaders, artisans, drivers, traders, and other residents to promote awareness and understanding of HIV/AIDS. Mr Ashie added that the department is mobilising resources to support people living with HIV (PLHIV) and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), including NHIS registration and school needs.
A nine-member Municipal Committee (MUCOM) oversees HIV activities, advocacy, programme planning, resource mobilisation, and monitoring in both formal and informal sectors.
He noted that while the national HIV prevalence is 1.6%, the Volta Region records 1.58%, with the Bono region highest at 2.22% and North East lowest at 0.49%. The department is committed to reducing infection rates through sustainable behavioural change interventions, comprehensive education, and awareness campaigns.
Mr Ashie highlighted that the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), established in 2002, coordinates the decentralised response to HIV/AIDS, focusing on management, behavioural change communication, and monitoring statistical trends.
Target groups include youth in and out of school, commercial sex workers, and men who have sex with men, with HIV testing, counselling, and treatment services available under the UN 90-90-90 campaign. Efforts include eliminating mother-to-child transmission, scaling up ART sites, and initiating treatment regardless of CD4 count.
He urged the public to spread awareness on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections to safeguard lives and ensure a healthier future for the municipality.
GNA
Edited by: Maxwell Awumah/Audrey Dekalu