GHANA: Government worried by effect of AIDS on women

JOHANNESBURG, 21 Sep 2004 (PLUSNEWS) - Ghana's Deputy Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, Kofi Poku-Adusei, has expressed concern over the rate at which HIV/AIDS was creating orphans.

The Ghana News Agency quoted Poku-Adusei as saying: "The new dimension of the disease is the creation of a rapidly growing orphan population ... statistics reveal that more than three million children have lost both or one of their parents to HIV/AIDS and the vast majority of these live in sub-Saharan Africa."

Urging Ghanaians to examine critically the threat posed by HIV/AIDS, Poku-Adusei noted that current AIDS figures should serve as a "wake-up call" for the country's women.

Research shows that of a total of 64,591 HIV/AIDS cases recorded at the end of 2002, more than 39,000 were women, while just over 25,000 were men.

[ENDS]