GHANA AIDS COMMISSION DONATES COMPUTERS (PAGE 52)

The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has presented computers and accessories worth GH¢4,500.00 to the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council (WRCC), the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Mpohor Wassa East District Assembly in Sekondi.
Speaking at the presentation, the Chief Director of the WRCC, Mr David Yaro, said there was a high possibility that the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the Western Region would increase following the discovery of oil which might lead to a boom in business and consequently an influx of all manner of people including commercial sex workers.
Reports indicate that 2,822 people got infected with the HIV virus in 2008 as against 1,278 people, who got infected with the disease in 2007.
He said a lot needed to be done in an effort to fight and reduce the debilitating effect of HIV on the economy of the region in particular and the country as a whole.
“The level of awareness is currently very high, almost 100 per cent and the acceptance rate is equally increasing dramatically”, he explained but added, “however, in the Western region, the prevalence rate is not one for celebration, despite a reduction from 4.3 per cent in 2006 to 3.2 per cent in 2007”.
Mr Yaro, therefore, stressed that there was the need for proper planning to cope with the new trend which could be done effectively only when there was accurate data.
The presentation of the computers, he said, would help the beneficiaries to do that without major challenges.
He stressed the need to undertake and also ensure proper dissemination of information on HIV, to ensure proper data availability as well as the management and the application of such information.
“There is no doubt that, these computers will help in the dissemination of information to all stakeholders in the HIV/AIDS sector”, he said, adding, “For us in the Western Region therefore, the presentation is most timely and therefore warmly welcome”.
The use of the computers at the district level, he said, would help link them to the regional co-ordinating council and subsequently improve information flow from the grassroots to the regional and national levels.
“It is expected that information flow will be smooth once the country’s Response Information System becomes the main medium of reporting, which is done through the internet”, he said, pointing out that, “it would also enable the Ghana AIDS Commission to monitor and ensure compliance, while eschewing duplication and wrong entries”.
The Management, Information Systems Officer of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Mr Samuel Dery, who made the presentation, said 21 district assemblies and 10 regional co-ordinating councils had been selected for a pilot project on the national response on HIV/AIDS.
He said there was the need to know whether the regions were moving forward as far as data management was concerned or not.
According to Mr Dery, there were a lot of implementers of HIV/AIDS programmes on the field and that they needed to be monitored.