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Dr Leo Zekeng, Country Co-ordinator of UNAIDS has expressed the need for a correlation between AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases, to minimise the rate of infections in the country. He said stigma attached to People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) remained a challenge to health workers in the fight against the pandemic. Dr Zekeng made the request at the third annual Global Health Council Board meeting in Accra. The meeting was organised by Afro Global Alliance in partnership with the Global Health Council, facilitators of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial programme�s Board. The programme, which started in 1983, involves about 1,000 organisations in more than 100 countries that support local initiatives to support PLWHAs. Dr Zekeng said the involvement of communities in health education on AIDS was vital to ensure the commitment and mobilisation of the people to check the stigmatisation of the PLWHAs and facilitate public awareness about the pandemic. Chief Austin Arinze Obiefuna, National Co-ordinator of the programme, said the candlelight memorial was an opportunity to educate the people about AIDS, create community dialogue and influence local and national policy-makers about its prevention, care and treatment. He said it was also an opportunity for AIDS co-ordinators to improve their community mobilisation skills, partner with like-minded groups and professionals to find unity within a global coalition of AIDS activists. Chief Obiefuna said through the active involvement of civil society organisations in Ghana, many communities had participated in the campaign and were well committed and on course in the fight against HIV and AIDS. He said there was the need to set in motion strong advocacy at all levels, especially within the communities and to let the people recognise that their health constituted their wealth and that every successful endeavour hinged on good health. Mr Maxwell Addo, Director of Finance, Ghana AIDS Commission, said the meeting was timely since it was closer to December when the World AIDS Day is observed globally. He said it was appropriate that the meeting would be discussing crucial issues and strategies for 2010.