The Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly has inaugurated a 9 member HIV/AIDS committee as required by the Ghana AIDS commission, act, 2016 an act of parliament.
The Ghana AIDS commission has adopted the United Nation (UN) sustainable development goal 3 to end AIDS infection by 2030. The 95-95-95 goal is expected to fast track targets which are to ensure that by 2025, 95 percent of all people infected with HIV should know their status, 95 percent of all people diagnosed to have HIV would receive sustained anti-retroviral therapy and 95 percent of people receiving anti-retroviral therapy would have viral load suppression.
The Ghana AIDS commission act 2016, act 938 is therefore required to constitute committees with provisions to safeguard the rights of persons living with HIV, establish HIV/AIDS funds and promote resource mobilization.
It is against this background that the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly has constituted a 9 member HIV/AIDS committee to perform the functions of the aids commission and the regional coordinating council within the Municipality.
At the inaugural committee meeting of the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly, the Director general of the Ghana aids commission, Mr. kyeremeh Atuahene, in a speech read on his behalf by the director- Technical Services of the Ghana AIDS commission, Dr. Fred Nana Poku indicated that the achievement of the UN goals would need effective strengthening of resource mobilization, therefore government is working assiduously to establish the national HIV and aids funds to ensure that the national response is financially independent.
The activities of the Municipal HIV/AIDS committee is expected to reduce the rate of infections to the lowest minimum.
According to statistics, the current rate of HIV infections in the Municipality stands 1.5 percent and there is the need to reduce that to the lowest minimum. However, the Municipal Health Directorate has been facing challenges such as lack of funding for monitoring, lack of training of staff as well as lack of ARTs in some of the facilities.
The Municipal Health Director, also a member of the Ledzokuku HIV/AIDS committee, Ms. Jacqueline Sfarijlani, is therefore hopeful that the mandate and activities of the committee would go a long way to address the challenges affecting the Municipality in the management of HIV/AIDS.
The Municipal Chief Executive of the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly, Mrs. Evelyn Naa Adjeley Twum-Gyamrah is the Chaired the Committee. According to her, the committee is a crucial link in the implementation of the decentralized national HIV/AIDS strategy, therefore the need to have a better understanding of their roles to enable them perform effectively and efficiently for the betterment of the Municipality.
The 9 member committee was sworn in by the Her Lordship Mrs. Juliet Osei Boadu.
