23% of death in Eastern Region caused by HIV/AIDS
Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot

Accra, May 17, Ghanadot - Report reaching Ghanadot from the eastern part of Ghana indicates that about 23 percent of overall deaths cases recorded last year were caused by HIV/AIDS.

This was made known by the Eastern Regional Minister Hon. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo when he addressed students of Aburi Girls Senior High School at awards ceremony for silver recipients of Head of State Award Scheme (HOSA) at Aburi.

To this end, he called on Ghanaians particularly residents in the region to put their shoulders to the wheel to find solution to the menace which has posed a potential threat to the country’s effort to ensure accelerated socio-economic development.

He also launched a passionate appeal to Parent Teachers Association (PTA) to incorporate HIV/AIDS education programme into school activities so that students could be educated on the need to abstain from unprotected sex.

According to him, though the prevalence rate has reduced over the years, much still needed to be done to prevent it from spreading further since most of the infected persons were in the economic productive age and constitute a greater percentage of the country’s labor force.

He contended that, “if we do not institute measures as soon as possible to mitigate the spread of the menace, it would definitely affect the level of productivity in the country”.

Touching on the ceremony, the Eastern Regional Minister commended the students for achieving this highly remarkable feat and asked them not to relent on their effort but rather aim high to win more laurels for the school.

He explained that, the NDC government recognizes education as an effective tool for national development, hence would ensure that every child of school going age especially the girl child gets access to quality and affordable education.

To buttress his point, he mentioned that the 50% increased of Capitation Grant and free school uniforms which would be provided for pupils at the basic level by September underlined governments effort to make education affordable to all.

He also disclosed that plans were far advanced by government to review subsidies for second cycle institutions to help relief parents off their financial burdens leading to enhance teaching and learning.

Even though government was putting interventions to enhance quality teaching and learning, Mr. Ampofo reiterated that, government effort would hit a stony wall when the youth whose shoulders the future of the country lies were indiscipline.

He bemoaned on certain acts of indiscipline such as occultism, breaking of school bounds, pilfering , lesbianism, pre-marital sex and internet fraud known in local parlance as “sakawa’ which has taken centre stage among the youth.

As he called on parents to frown on these negative practices of their wards since they hold the tendency to ruin their lives, the children on the other hand tasked to make good use of the enormous resources around them to their advantage.

Continuing the Minister implored teachers to adopt proper ways of molding the characters of students to ensure that they grow and become responsible citizens and contributes meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the country.

Ghanadot