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The Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA) has organised free HIV screening for over 300 residents within the municipality to mark the World AIDS Day on Tuesday, December 1.

The Beneficiaries, including market women and traders, also benefited from free malaria test and had their blood pressure checked.

Know your AIDS status

The Municipal Chief Executive of the KoKMA, Mr. Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, told Graphic online that the exercise was aimed at educating the public about the condition, and also help them know their HIV status and subsequently take the necessary steps to live a healthy life.

 “What we are doing here today is to educate people in the municipality and have them check their HIV status,” he said.

He noted that as part of marking the day, street activations were organised at various areas within the municipality to educate people to desist from stigmatising persons living with HIV.

He said that the assembly was working hand in hand with the Ghana Health Service, Ghana AIDS Commission and the Association of People Living with HIV to intensify education on the condition.

He encouraged the public to know their HIV status so they can take the necessary steps to either treat or avoid contracting the disease.

Contact health centre

The Assistant Director of Administration of the Assembly, Ms. Antoinette Opoku, reminded the public that HIV was still real and thus urged them to tread cautiously.

“We want to make people aware that HIV is real. People have the assumption that COVID-19 has come and AIDS is no longer there, it’s still there and the prevalence is actually increasing by the day, she said.

"We preach about abstinence, we handover condoms to those you visit our desk here not because we want to do so, but we do that for them to keep themselves in check. We advise people, particularly the single men and women who are not yet ready for marriage, to always use a condom if they decide to have sex before marriage.

“Also, there are a lot of counterfeit condoms on the market, so if you react to any condoms you buy at a pharmacy you can visit the nearest health centre so that they would examine it and advise you on that,” she advised.

World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day has been held on December 1 every year since 1988. It is a day dedicated internationally to raising awareness of the spread of HIV infections globally.

The global theme for this year’s commemoration is: “Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility”, and this was enlarged in the national theme for the occasion to include: “Stay Safe, Let’s End AIDS by 2030”.