Handlers and care givers of People Living with HIV/AIDS, have been advised to stick to the proper management of HIV information to aid the fight against stigmatisation and discrimination.
“Wrongful disclosures of the ‘bad news’ to those who test positive for the first time could traumatize them psychologically and aggravate their health condition”.
Ms Eunice Asantewaa, the Municipal Assistant Director with focus responsibility for HIV of the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly gave the advice.
“Similarly, divulging clients’ status information to outsiders, can also stigmatise them and should not be allowed under any circumstance’, she emphasised.
The Assistant Director was speaking at a day’s training programme held jointly by Asokore-Mampong Municipal Assembly and the Municipal Health Directorate, for HIV/AIDS Client Handlers, Data Managers and Laboratory Technicians working at all health facilities within the Municipality.
Other participants included; stakeholders from the Municipal Health Directorate as well as NGOs in health such as; Well-Live Ghana, PAFA and NAP+ Ghana.
Some of the People Living with the infection were also on hand to share their experiences with the participants.
Ms Asantewaa said the Assembly was committed to providing the conducive environment to enable stakeholders in the HIV response, especially health professionals in the Municipality to function effectively in combating the dreaded pandemic.
“It is for this very reason and the objective to achieve the ‘90-90-90 Targets’ of the Ghana AIDS Commission that, the training programme was organised
Mrs Stella Owusu Aduomi,the Municipal Co-ordinating Director, stated that it had become imperative for all to get involved in the fight to end HIV, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She advised the health personnel who are the first point of contact with the HIV infected persons to be well equipped with at least the basic skills necessary to receive and refer such patients to the appropriate facilities for advance care.
Madam Victoria Fellah, Principal Physician Assistant, a resource person for the programme took participants through the basics of HIV Testing and Counselling, as well as the professional steps to break HIV/AIDS information to infected persons.
Re-echoing the need for the professional handling or management of information to sufferers, she said though it was essential to put on the appropriate safety gears at work to prevent the spread of infections, putting on too many protective working gears in the bid to ward off infections, also adds to patients’’ stigmatisation.
“Your normal professional protective clothes are enough to protect you”, she added.
Mr James Asamoah, Data Officer with Anwiam Hospital, took the participants through the District Health Information Management Systems (DHIMS) of the Ghana Health Service.
He said in inputting information onto the DHIMS platform, health personnel must only validate when they are sure all updates were uploaded.
Mrs. Ayisha Aavore of the Municipal Health Directorate, commenting on the data management system advised health personnel to use the right template in completing data meant for the DHIMS, so as to make it convenient for data officers to upload them onto the system.
Mrs Emelia Fosuhene, the Municipal Community Development Officer, said the Assembly is doing its best to assist those living with the virus, especially, new-borns, adding, that the Assembly cannot achieve this alone due to its limited resources.
She called on all, including NGOs and philanthropist who have the Municipality at heart, to join the Assembly and its stakeholders in the on-going efforts to eliminate the virus from the Municipality.
Source: GNA
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