Unsafe sex, cause of HIV and AIDS pandemic

Nana Owusu Boatey, Head of Occupational, Health and Safety at the Trade Union Congress, has noted that 85 per cent of People Living with HIV/AIDS were infected through unsafe sex.

He said workers in the transport sector were very vulnerable to the disease because they spent a lot of time away from home and embarked on long distance journeys, exposed to administrative delays at the border crossing and often  lacked proper accommodation and security.

He also expressed worry that although trade union education on HIV and AIDS was high at the workplaces compliance was not impressive.

Mr Boatey called on stakeholders especially the youth to change their attitude towards sex.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency at a two-day workshop to sensitise transport workers in Accra on HIV and AIDS, he said the disease had triple impact on the transport sector spanning the workers, their families and communities.

Nana Boatey said the disease also threatened economic productivity.

He noted that prevalence was at present very high in Sub-Saharan Africa, which was the centre of the disease and it needed to be halted before the situation got worse.

He said it was crucial to empower members of organised labour to negotiate comprehensive HIV and AIDS clauses into their collective bargaining agreements, hence the need for the workshop.

“We believed that by strengthening the capacity of our members they will be committed to the successful implementation of HIV and AIDS programmes based on co-operation of management, employees and their representatives at their workplaces,” he said.

Source: GNA