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The Ghana Education Service (GES) has stressed the need to sustain preventive education on HIV/AIDS as a means of contributing to a further decline in the prevalence rate of 1.9 per cent among youth and in the overall national prevalence. It said this was in view of the large proportion of students at the Basic, Secondary and Tertiary levels, which fall within the youth group of 15 to 24 years, the age group used as a marker for new infections. The call was made in a statement issued in Accra on Tuesday and signed by Mr Charles Parker-Allotey, Head Public Relations to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1. It said "December 1, every year has been globally recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as World AIDS Day, the GES reminds the public especially the media about the need to increase awareness by bringing to the fore, issues concerning the global AIDS epidemic and to drum home the fact that HIV/AIDS have not gone away and as such a lot remains to be done at the national, organizational and community levels". The statement said the GES, recognizes the extra-ordinary responsibility and opportunity to provide universal access to preventive education and to protect the human rights of personnel and learners in line with the 2009 theme of "Universal Access and Human Rights". On this occasion of World AIDS Day, the GES "continues to pledge its commitment and support for HIV interventions within the sector. It also entreats students to remain focused on their studies while staying protected from HIV infection".