Executive members of the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP) say they will collaborate with stakeholders to sustain the needed education to the public to reverse the spread of HIV AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
The Executive Director of CEDEP, Mr Patrick Amoateng-Mensah, who gave the assurance, said reversing the spread of such diseases would help the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Speaking at the official launch of the Ashanti Regional chapter of Fair Play for Africa campaign on the theme :“Reduction of HIV Aids stigma among women”, Mr Amoateng-Mensah said although Ghana had made efforts at increasing financial resources for the health sector over the years, the target of 15 per cent to support the sector was yet to be attained.
This, he said, had affected the efficient and effective medical care delivery in the country, stressing “hospitals and clinics remained ill-equipped, staff are inadequate, while women and girls of reproductive age continue to die from preventable pregnancy-related conditions”.
Mr Amoateng-Mensah announced that CEDEP supported societies that promote social, economic and civic rights of people in pursuance of equitable and sustainable human development with focus on education.
In her address, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oforikrom, Mrs Elizabeth Agyemang, said Ghana had made substantial progress towards achieving the MDG indicators.
She, however, noted that the progress had been slow and regretted that stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with the HIV AIDS had undermined the ability of individuals, families and communities to adequately protect themselves or provide support to others affected by the disease.
The MP advised women to lead morally upright lifestyles and also offer themselves to be screened and vaccinated against certain diseases to improve their health.
She said it was equally important for them to abstain from casual and pre-marital sex.
The Campaign Co-ordinator, Mrs Della Bright Kokroko, said Fair Play Ghana would campaign throughout 2010 by utilising key national and global movements to implement various activities to achieve its campaign objectives.
In an address read on his behalf, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Kofi Opoku-Manu, observed that the AIDS stigma had created enormous barriers to public health programmes.
He said it was therefore, important for all stakeholders to be creative in designing HIV AIDS interventions, policies and programmes for implementation to reduce the stigma associated with the disease.
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