Mr Eric Akobeng, Agona West Municipal Focal Person on HIV/AIDS, has warned the youth and
married couples to refrain from indiscriminate sexual behaviour to help reduce the spread of AIDS in the country.
He said the prevalence of HIV/AIDS was still high and there was, therefore, the need for the youth and stakeholders to help reverse the
situation.
Mr Akobeng made this known at a day's HIV/AIDS training workshop for Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Heads of Department and
other stakeholders on resource mobilization and stigma reduction at Agona Swedru in the Agona West Municipality of the Central Region.
The Focal Person said the workshop was also to give the participants an insight into the preparation of proposals and other related issues about HIV/AIDS to enable them to source funds from foreign donors and government agencies for public education.
He called on the local communities to join the crusade against the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD).
Mr Akobeng said 12.5 per cent of the blood donated at the Agona Swedru Government Hospital in the first six months of this year was HIV-Positive.
He said the disease was fast spreading despite the intensification of the educational campaign by the Ghana AIDS Commission, NGOs
and CBOs, a situation which indicated that Ghanaians had not changed their sexual behaviour.
Mr Seth Boadi, Deputy Coordinating Director of the Agona West Municipal Assembly, expressed the hope that the training workshop would go a long way to build the capacities of participants to know how to source funds to sensitize the public on the disease.
Mr Boadi urged the people to be careful about their sexual behaviour because the disease existed and had no cure.