By Solomon Gumah, GNA
Tolon (N/R), Oct 21, GNA – The Tolon District Assembly has launched an initiative to promote HIV prevention, improve access to healthcare, and protect workers against stigma and discrimination.
The initiative, under the National HIV and AIDS Workplace and Wellness Policy, seeks to integrate HIV prevention, treatment, care and support into workplace activities while creating a safe and supportive environment for employees living with or affected by HIV and other health conditions.
The launch, attended by departmental heads among other stakeholders, formed part of efforts to strengthen workplace HIV prevention and protect workers’ rights.
Mr Andrew Akumbutum, Tolon District Coordinating Director, who facilitated the launch at Tolon, said workplaces were strategic settings for promoting HIV prevention and wellness because they provided opportunities to reach workers, their families and dependants with essential health information and interventions.
He said the Assembly was committed to implementing the national policy to safeguard workers’ health, enhance productivity and ensure that employees could access health services without fear of discrimination or the unauthorised disclosure of confidential medical information.
Mr Akumbutum urged public and civil servants to take responsibility for their health, remain informed about HIV prevention and adopt responsible lifestyles to protect themselves and their families.
He said employers and workers must desist from stigmatising and discriminating against people living with HIV stressing that everyone deserved dignity, respect and equal treatment, irrespective of their health status.
He warned that those, who engaged in stigma and discrimination, could face the consequences prescribed under the Ghana AIDS Commission Act, 2016 (Act 938).
Mr Akumbutum urged all departments and agencies in the district to develop and implement workplace HIV and wellness policies to support national efforts to eliminate HIV as a public health threat.
Mr Nuhu Musah, Northern Regional Deputy Director of Programmes at the Ghana AIDS Commission said HIV continued to pose a threat to employee wellbeing and productivity making a comprehensive workplace wellness policy essential to Ghana’s national HIV response.
He said effective implementation of the policy would promote HIV prevention, treatment, care and support while helping institutions establish safe and healthy working environments for their employees.
Mr Musah explained that the policy extended beyond HIV to cover co-infections and other communicable diseases including human papillomavirus, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis.
He added that it also covered non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes promoting a more comprehensive approach to employee health and wellness.
He said the policy required institutions to establish measures to protect workers against all forms of stigma and discrimination based on their actual or perceived HIV status and other communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Mr Musah disclosed that Ghana recorded about 13,951 new HIV infections in 2025, a development he said underscored the need to intensify prevention and awareness campaigns in homes, workplaces, communities, districts and regions.
He urged institutions in both the formal and informal sectors to develop and implement the policy to strengthen workplace health programmes and contribute to efforts to eliminate HIV as a public health threat.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Solomon Gumah
Email: [email protected]