About 334,000 people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana, as of December 2018, Mrs Comfort Asamoah-Adu, Executive Director of the West African Program to Combat AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases WAPCAS has disclosed.
She said currently about113,000 of those living with the disease were receiving treatment within the same period.
Mrs Asamoah-Adu disclosed this in an exclusive interview with the Ghanaian Times during a donation of 15 laptop computers and printers worth GH¢100,000 to the Ghana Police Service (GPS) by WAPCAS in Accra yesterday.
The computers and its accessories, procured under the Global Fund Project, would be distributed to the seven police training schools in the country to facilitate their activities.
The Executive Director said as part of human rights intervention and stigmatisation of persons with HIV/AIDS, there was the need to work with the personnel of the service who are custodian of the law, by training them to protect such people.
She said stigmatisation was very high and called on the public to desist from such practices, stating that it could lead to the spread of the disease.
The Executive Director said the human rights of persons with HIV/AIDS must be protected, adding that WAPCAS was collaborating with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and Women in law, among others, to protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
"As key actors in the enforcement of laws in the country, there is the need to protect the human rights of persons with HIV/AIDS in the country," she added.
Mrs Asamoah-Adu said Global Fund Project had been supporting WAPCAS over the years on HIV/AIDS issues, malaria and tuberculosis where procurement of drugs were made.
She stressed the need for collaboration among stakeholders in the health sector to ensure that the HIV menace was reduced in the country.
Mrs Asamoah-Adu called on the public to ensure the protection of people living with HIV/AIDS at all times to prevent the transmission chain such as mother to child among others.
She appealed to the public to get tested to know their status.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr James Oppong Boanuh, who received the items on behalf of the GPS commended the management of WAPCAS for the kind gesture, stating that it would go a long way to help the police in their activities.
He said the items would be used for its intended purpose and also maintained to expand its lifespan.
Mr Oppong Boanuh called on other organisations to assist the service in its logistical needs, stating that the government alone could not provide all the needs of the police.
He commended WAPCAS for their initiative and assured them of the GPS' continuous support to help them achieve their goals.
The Commanding Officer of the National Police Training School, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Deborah Addison Campbell, said the police had the duty to protect people with the disease.
She said the police service would embark on community education to ensure that the rights of persons with HIV/AIDS were protected.
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