Devt partners pledge support for AIDS Commission

A number of development partners have affirmed their commitment to support the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) in the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS response programme.

They include the United Nations (UN) systems in Ghana, PEPFAR, an American international donor organisation, the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation(GIZ) and the Embassy of Japan in Ghana.

To give meaning to their commitment, the partners signed an aide-mémoire with the GAC in Accra last Monday.

The signing ceremony climaxed the 2014 partnership forum and business meeting organised by the GAC on November 14 and 15, 2014, to take stock of 2014 performance and strategise for 2015.

The 2014 edition of Partnership Forum and Business Meeting, the 10th in the series, was on the theme, “Getting to zero: Accelerating the national response towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”.

Aide-mémoire

The aide-mémoire contains resolutions, re-affirmations and commitments of the government and the development partners to boost and accelerate the national HIV/AIDS response programme.

The ultimate aim of the national HIV/AIDS response programme is to reach a prevalence rate of zero. 

As part of the agreement, the partners will provide expertise and funds to enhance the capacity of the GAC to address the numerous challenges of the commission, including the difficulties associated with procurement and supply of HIV/AIDS commodities to ensure regular supply and avoid the frequent stock outs.

At the signing ceremony, the Director-General of the GAC, Dr Angela El-Adas, thanked the development partners for their commitment to support efforts at improving healthcare delivery.

She expressed the GAC’s commitment to ensure that every resource given out was prudently utilised and accounted for.

“We will ensure equity as far as access to quality health care is concerned,” she promised.

The development partners individually affirmed their commitment to the GAC and the National HIV/AIDS Response programme.

2014 Recommendations 

Participants in the partnership forum recommended that data generation through research on specific segments of the population, should be prioritised.

They recommended the scaling up of HIV/AIDS prevention services at all prisons, the improvement of referrals and quality of health services to prisons.  

The participants also asked that the bottlenecks and barriers to the procurement and supply of HIV commodities must be addressed.