Mrs. Justice Sophia O.A. Adinyira, an Appeal Court Judge has observed that, inadequate funding was hampering the efforts of organizations and agencies fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.
She noted that even where funding existed, the procedures for accessing them were cumbersome and frustrating.
Mrs. Adinyira was speaking at a five-day HIV/AIDS seminar organised for 20 HIV/AIDS Focal Persons of the Judicial Service from the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Brong-Ahafo regions under the Judicial Service HIV/AIDS Sub-Project Management Committee.
The seminar, which forms part of the official launching of the Judicial Service HIV/AIDS educational programme for the Northern Zone of the country, was to increase the knowledge and understanding of the potential impact of HIV/AIDS on development in general and on Judicial Service in particular.
The forum also sought to promote the sense of urgency to develop effective responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Judicial Service as well as to stimulate effective activities and programmes to limit the spread of the disease.
Mrs. Adinyira, who is also the Judicial Service HIV/AIDS Vice-Chairperson of the Ghana AIDS Response Fund (GARFUND) appealed to the Ghana AIDS Commission and other development partners to consider increasing funding to the implementing agencies of the anti HIV/AIDS campaign to enhance their operational capacities.
She appealed to the Ghana AIDS Commission to assist Metropolitan and District Assemblies to establish HIV/AIDS Secretariats, where the general public would have access to information materials.
She said the Judicial Service was aware of the consequences of any lukewarm attitude towards mobilizing all human and material resources to fight the spread of the disease.
Mrs. Adinyira said, "When judges, lawyers and staff are infected, justice delivery suffers. Absenteeism will lead to adjournments, which invariably will result in delay in disposing of cases".
Besides, huge financial resources that would otherwise be committed to human and infrastructure development in the Service would be diverted into defraying medical bills of staff and judges, who would have succumbed to the disease. She said.
Mr Mohammed A. Baba, Tamale Metropolitan Coordinating Director said the spread of the HIV/AIDS in the Metropolis should be of a concern to all.
He said HIV/AIDS that was considered a health disease, has become social and economic problem that needed a concerted effort to eradicate.