Intensify HIV advocacy to contain the spread of HIV education among the homosexual community instead of ignoring the threat their activities posed to many in society.
Currently, the LGBTQI+ must be the target group as they are vulnerable to HIV infections, therefore, all measures must be put in place to ensure that they are assisted to ensure safety protocols that would either prevent them from contracting the virus or spreading it.
“Even if the Ghanaian society does not accept the homosexual community, the practice was ongoing which could spread the virus since HIV prevalence among gays was the highest,” Dr. Stephen Ayisi-Addo, Programme Manager, National AIDS/STI Control Programme has stated.
He stated this during the 14th Edition of the Stakeholders Engagement and Workers" Appreciation Day Seminar of the Tema Regional Office of the Ghana News Agency, which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema.
The GNA Tema Stakeholder Engagement is a platform rolled out for state and non-state actors to address national issues and serves as a motivational mechanism to recognize the editorial contribution of reporters towards national development in general, and the growth and promotion of the Tema GNA as the industrial news hub.
Dr. Ayisi-Addo said the National AIDS/STI Control Programme was not interested in politics but could only campaign for the need to protect oneself from being exposed to the virus, irrespective of ones way of life or condition.
He said currently, technology was far advanced to keep HIV patients alive and to help them live normal lives, therefore, the need to keep persons within the high-risk group well informed so they took advantage of it.
The Programme Manager said, with strict adherence to HIV protocols, people would not only stay free from contracting the virus but HIV patients had an increased chance of not having their situations degenerate into AIDS, thereby reducing HIV deaths drastically.
“Even though HIV-related deaths have reduced over the years, the virus was still an issue since it had no cure, therefore we should not relent in the fight against the virus,” he stressed.
He also indicated that NACP was focused on educating pregnant women who form another high-risk group. “The idea is to save many of the unborn babies from contracting the virus since the disease is not genetically transmitted and therefore with the right technology babies could be spared from getting the virus.
Mr. Francis Ameyibor, GNA-Tema Regional Manager explained that the stakeholder platform adopted by the GNA-Tema Office is a progressive movement from static Journalistic practice to pragmatic journalism which is action-driven for results.
He said modern journalistic practice demands progressive practitioners with a high sense of intuition for developmental news; “the era where journalists seat down in the newsroom waiting for assignment or for the event organizer to invite them for coverage is long gone.
“It is an anachronistic journalistic practice; you can not set agenda when you virtually depend on someone else speeches for news”.
Mr. Ameyibor said the media landscape is an evolving vehicle that has no seat for static journalists. “It, therefore, calls for a paradigm shift to remain relevant in the fast-growing communication world.
“The media must be a catalyst for change that will reflect in national development. Society is gradually losing confidence in the media – we must therefore move away from the control of politicians and influential people to be truly the voice of the people.
“As the salt of the world, we are gradually losing our role as the fourth estate of the realm – and will sooner than later be trampled under the feet of society”.
