Ghana revises HIV/AIDS policy
Mr Julius Debrah, Greater Accra Regional Minister on Tuesday said the revision of the National HIV and AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Policy is relevant for Ghana’s socio-economic development.
He said the slowing down of the country’s social and economic growth rate has often been partially related to the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS on the finances of families and the general economy.
He said the revised National HIV and AIDS Policy would, therefore, ensure greater participation from all sectors of the economy in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the country’s response to the epidemic.
Mr Debrah said when finalised, the Policy would provide an enabling environment to support the implementation of the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (SPN) for 2011-2015, to achieve its expected outcome and output and provide guidance to other HIV-related policies, interventions, programme design and implementation in the country.
He said the Policy would also address the overlooked components of the existing National HIV and AIDS Policy, which was first developed in 2004 and improve upon the previously used strategies by utilising cost effective, practical, socially acceptable and scientifically sound policies to ensure that the HIV and AIDS epidemic was brought under control in the country.
Mr Debrah was addressing stakeholders at the opening of the Ghana AIDS Commission’s (GAC) dissemination of the revised National HIV and AIDS, STI Policy.
He said the revised National HIV and AIDS Policy sought to ensure that there was participation from all sectors of the economy in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the country’s response to the epidemic.
Mr Debrah stated that the National HIV and AIDS, STI Policy included policies to prevent further transmission of the diseases, provide treatment, care and support for PLHIV, orphans and vulnerable children.
It was also to mitigate the social, economic and cultural impact of HIV and AIDS on families and the wider society and to identify the importance of upholding and protecting the rights of all Ghanaians including PLHIV or affected by HIV and AIDS.
It will safeguard the rights of the vulnerable, who include women and children and develop appropriate measures to address all relevant issues through a multi-sectoral stakeholder commitment towards strengthened policy advocacy, to eliminate stigma and discrimination at all levels and ensure equality in access to healthcare and other social needs of these vulnerable groups.
The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) in the revision process organised regional reviews and dissemination meetings with stakeholders and commended the team of consultants who were tasked to execute the review of the policy.
According to the Regional Minister, Ghana’s HIV response had made significant progress towards the achievement of universal access to HIV and AIDS services.
He said progress had been achieved in the area of availability of treatment to Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), stigma and discrimination and in the elimination of Mother-To-Child-Transmission of HIV.
“It is also well acknowledged that the estimated national HIV prevalence rate has reduced from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 1.37 percent in 2012, however, due to the cosmopolitan nature and increase in migration, the prevalence of the Greater Accra increased from 3.2 percent to 3.5 percent respectively”, he said.
Professor Emeritus Daasebre Oti Boateng, the Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional area, also indicated that the effective implementation of the policy would help to reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS, STI-related morbidity and mortality in the country.
The National HIV and AIDS, STI Policy, he said, was developed to create a favourable environment for prevention, care and support as well as to provide an overall guidance to the implementation of a national response.
However, following new relevant knowledge and rapid scientific changes that had occurred globally and in the National AIDS Response over the years, and the need for national policies to keep abreast with and respond to the changes, it was recommended through the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan 2011-2015, to revise the National HIV and AIDS Policy of (2004).
He explained that the revision process, which took almost a year and a half, went through series of extensive stakeholder consultations at both Regional and National levels for additional inputs, revisions, validation and dissemination of the draft policy.
Mr Cosmos Ohene-Adjei, Acting Director General of the GAC, in an overview, said the report looked at the two major thematic areas which involved decreasing the social and economic effects of HIV and AIDS, STIs at all levels to reduce HIV- related stigma and discrimination and also ensure the strengthening of Health Systems in the country.
He explained that the goal for the mitigation was to alleviate the social, cultural and economic effects of HIV and AIDS and address the impact of gender norms and stereotypes, as well as the challenges faced by households and caregivers, and ensures equal access to basic needs for PLHIV, orphans and vulnerable children.
He said the policy requested that Government enhanced its resource mobilisation and ensure equitable and sustainable funding for the health sector in alignment with existing health sector policies and strategies.
He said the policy, therefore, seeks to mitigate stigma and discrimination, by ensuring adequate and accurate information, strengthen stakeholder commitment through a multi-sectoral advocacy approach and strengthen and utilise legal and policy resources to support a rights-based response to HIV-related stigma and discrimination to address the fears, misconception and myths about HIV and AIDS.
Mr Ohene-Adjei stressed that the Policy required Government to conduct periodic population-based surveys to measure levels of HIV-related stigma and establish systems to provide regular reporting of cases of discrimination.
Source: GNA