The retired educationist also advised them to report schoolmates who behave badly to their parents or teachers instead of succumbing to peer pressure. She added that the youth constitute a larger portion of the nation’s entire workforce and hold the key to the future hence the need to encourage them to avoid behaviors that could jeopardize their lives.
Mrs. Awuni gave the advice during an interview with Health Matters in line with creating awareness on the current frightening HIV prevalence rate of 3.8 per cent in the Bolgatanga municipality.
With this latest HIV prevalence, Bolgatanga is now occupying the third position on the National HIV Prevalence Chart.
Kumasi in the Ashanti region placed second with a prevalence rate of 4.6 per cent while Agormenya in the Eastern region, occupied the first position with 7.8 per cent.
The data was arrived at following a collation of reports from selected urban sites usually comprising regional capitals, highly-populated municipalities and metropolitan areas in Ghana.
The 2010 HIV Sentinel Survey Report released by the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) also disclosed that out of the 40 urban and rural sites selected across the country, Bolgatanga moved from its previous 24th position to the current 4th position on the Sentinel Country Site Chart.
Earlier, the Bolgatanga Municipal HIV Coordinator, William Amankwaa had told A1 Radio in the city that since the inception of the HIV Sentinel Survey in 2001, Bolgatanga had recorded a prevalence of 1.6% in 2002, 2.8% in 2003, 3.0% in 2004, 3.8% in 2005, 2.2% in 2006, 3.4% in 2007, 2.6% in 2008, 2.2% in 2009 and 2.6% in 2010 representing a prevalence rate of 3.8%.
Mr. Amankwaa told the host of “Health Agenda” that the current HIV prevalence rate for Bolgatanga simply means that 4 out of every 100 people in the municipality are HIV positive.
He cited an increasing trend in promiscuity, the explosion of new tertiary institutions in the area and the proximity of Bolgatanga to neighboring countries like Burkina-Faso, Mali and Togo as some causes for the increase in HIV prevalence rates.
Mrs. Awuni also described as worrying the upsurge in media reports about homosexuality among Ghanaian youth and called on stakeholders, especially parents and school authorities to be vigilant in monitoring and mentoring the country’s future leaders to become responsible adults.
HEALTH MATTERS can confidently say that though commercial sex is virtually absent in Bolgatanga, many women both young and old, engaged in “double or multiple dating,” which is fast becoming acceptable in area. This is mainly because most of them are left to fend for themselves and can have their financial and other material needs met through these sexual liaisons.
Girls as young as 15 years are often left to fend for themselves, even though their parents and extended family members know they do not have any employable skills to depend on for their livelihood.
View article: