Some young people in the Ashanti region’s Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipality are pleading with officials to increase education and advocacy in the municipality as part of efforts to limit the number of new HIV/AIDS infections.
According to them, the area has seen a substantial increase in new HIV infections, which they describe as unhealthy and a threat to public health.
The youth have also asked authorities to increase education, particularly on safer sex practises, such as the usage of condoms.
The call was made by the youth after it was discovered that more than 70% of the young people in the area were HIV-positive.
The facility head at Kobeng Health Centre and Nkawie Government Hospital in the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipality of Ashanti region has raised concerns about the rate of new infections.
According to Dr. Emmanuel Boamah, the statistics show that as of November 2023, new cases detected were 285 with 205 currently on treatment, adding that the infected persons in the area are 1,682 with almost 70% being youth.
He said most of the sexually active young people have multiple sexual partners but are not using condoms, making the spread of the virus extremely high.
Dr. Emmanuel Boamah gave a word of advice to the people in the area, especially the youth, to abstain from premarital sex, use condoms whenever they have sex, and avoid having multiple sexual partners since that increases their chances of contracting the virus and other sexually transmitted infections.
“We have discovered 285 new cases in Atwima Nwabiagya, Ashanti’s South Municipality.” 205 of those are receiving treatment. However, the total community statistic suggests that 1,682 persons are affected. Because the majority of affected people are young adults or adolescents, the municipality faces a very high danger. These young adults are the backbone of the economy, so having them infected is a challenge for us.”
By: Rashid Obodai Provencal/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
