Isaac Akweetey
16 December 2008
The African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) has organised a one-day sensitisation workshop for a cross section of media practitioners in the country.
The practitioners, who were drawn from Accra and Koforidua, were taken through lessons such as the role of the media, and effective reporting on HIV and malaria, malaria and drugs use, and the HIV situation in Ghana.
Speaking on the malaria situation and drugs use in Ghana, the New Juaben Acting Municipal Director of the Ghana Health Service, Mr. Samuel Agyemang Boateng, stated that one million people, mainly children, die annually in Africa from malaria, as result of poor sanitary conditions.
According to him, as a result the continent spends over US$12 billion annually on malaria prevention and control, which accounts for an annual growth rate reduction of 1.3%.
He explained that the aspiration of the continent, to attain meddle income status in 2015, would face stiff opposition if Africans failed to find a lasting solution to malaria.
He, therefore, launched a passionate appeal to Africans, especially Ghanaians, to cultivate the attitude of keeping their surroundings clean, in order to save the continent from wasting a large chunk of money for development, on malaria control.
Touching on HIV and ART use in Ghana, the Regional Co-ordinator for the National AIDS Commission Programme (NACP), Dr. Sampson B. Ofori, on behalf of the commission, expressed his satisfaction at the downward trend of the deadly disease in the country, even though he accepted that there was more room for improvement.
The group later in the day visited Matthew 25, Koforidua-based AIDS Care Project, to interact with some infected and affected HIV persons.
Addressing the media on arrival at the house, the Founder and Director of the house, Rev. Fr Alex Bobby Benson, disclosed that he established the house in order to become a formidable partner in the crusade to fight against HIV/AIDS in Ghana.
He explained that the deadly disease rendered affected people lonely and helpless, hence the establishment of the place to bring back smiles on the faces of affected persons, offer services such as counseling, and engage in some income generating ventures, like batik tie and dye, soap and pomade making, among others.
He appealed to the government, corporate organisations, and philanthropists, to provide support, care and help promote the lifespan of these unfortunate ones.
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