Dr Gifty Apiung Aninanya
Upper East Regional Technical Support Unit Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Gifty Apiung Aninanya, has asked spiritual healers and prophets taking HIV positive persons through prayers to also advise them to continue taking their anti-retroviral drugs.
According to her, many people living with HIV and AIDS are falling prey to the enticing advertisement by these spiritual healers and prophets, thereby, neglecting their medications.
“In many cases, by the time these spiritual healers and prophets finish taking these people through the spiritual healing process, the persons living with HIV would have deteriorated and management becomes difficult,” she said.
Dr Aninanya was speaking at an interaction session with journalists from the Upper East and West Regions on the way forward toward to further minimise the level of stigmatisation and address the increasing number of people resorting to spiritual healers and prophets for ‘cure’ of their HIV.
She added that stigmatisation is still high in the Upper East Region and entreated stakeholders to make it a point to educate the public to desist from discriminating people living with HIV and AIDS and their children.
The Northern Regional Secretary of Persons Living With HIV/AIDS, Langa Amadu, stated that many members of the Network of People Living With HIV (NAP+) have relapsed because they stopped taking the anti-retroviral drug.
“I also pray, but I have never stopped taking my anti-retroviral drug and I continue to live positive lifestyle. I recently went to check my viral load count and I was told my viral load count was undetected,” he revealed.
From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Tamale