$52,445,091 SPENT ON HIV/AIDS IN 2007 (PAGE 22, OCT 26, 2010)

MORE than $52,445,091 was spent on HIV AIDS related activities in Ghana for the year 2007.
The Dean of the School of Medical Sciences of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor Amonoo-Koufi, announced this at an HIV AIDS stigmatisation reduction conference in Cape Coast.
The conference was organised by the UCC, University of Ghana, University of Education, Winneba and Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada, with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Professor Amonoo-Koufi said altogether, 40 per cent was spent on treatment and care with 35 per cent being spent on programme management and 12 per cent on prevention programmes.
He stated that spending on prevention decreased from 39 per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2006 and 12 per cent in 2007, whilst spending on treatment increased from 17 per cent in 2005 to 22 per cent in 2006 and 40 per cent in 2007.
Prof. Amonoo-Koufi said that was against the background that prevention remained the cornerstone of the national strategy to overcome the epidemic.
He said stigmatisation, socio-cultural practices and attitudes of people had made persons living with HIV AIDS to hide their status thus hindering their chances of obtaining proper treatment.
Prof. Amonoo-Koufi said while educating people to avoid stigmatisation, it was important to increase the understanding of the general population on how the disease was contracted.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe in a speech read on her behalf, called for concerted efforts to reduce stigmatisation and discrimination.
She commended the collaborative institutions and the agencies for their role of increasing awareness on the disease.