Koforidua Dec 20, GNA – Monsignor Bobby Benson, Founder and Director of Mathew 25 House, an HIV and AIDS care centre, has appealed to the Ministry of health to ensure Persons Living With HIV and AIDS (PLWHAs) get adequate supplies of the ART drugs to enhance their health.
Monsignor Benson, a Catholic priest who supports over hundreds of HIV patients and their children and Orphans and the Vulnerable (OVCs) whose parents had died from the disease said the ART drug was a lifeline for the PLWHAs and everything must be done to address the inadequate ARTs in the system.
Making the appeal at an annual Christmas party organised for clients of the Mathew 25 House and their families in Koforidua, Monsignor Benson noted that lately, when the PLWHAs visited health facilities, some were given two weeks or a month’s supplies instead of the usual three months.
He explained that most of the PLWHAs were faced with financial challenges so when they had to visit the facilities frequently for the drugs it became a challenge for them, leading to default in taking the drugs.
The Mathew 25 house, established 15 years ago by Monsignor Benson, provides shelter, medical care, food and clothing for People Living with HIV and AIDS and their children and over the years had seen scores of orphans of HIV patients through education to the tertiary levels.
The annual Xmas party was also instituted along as a recreational programme to bring PLWHAs all over the region together dubbed “Xmas soup Kitchen which feted over 2,000 people each year on Christmas day.
Madam Comfort Asante, New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive who graced the party advised the PLWHAs not to look down on themselves, but to take their ARTs religiously to ensure their survival.
She urged them to take keen interest in their children’s education and to follow the medical protocols regarding the mode of transmission of the disease and expressed immense gratitude to Monsignor Benson for his continuous care and support over the years for the underprivileged in society.
GNA