AIDS Commission Monitors Gays
The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) said Wednesday that it had initiated a series of focused surveillance activities for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), as it had envisaged such risks as a result of the increase in gay activities in the country. The surveillance is directed among the Most at Risk Populations (MARPS). A statement issued in Accra by Dr Angela El-Adas, Director-General of the GAC in reaction to reports of gay activities, said the MSM (Men having Sex with Men) situation in Ghana was an issue that we cannot not run away from. “The work of the reported NGO that registered up to 8,000 MSM, if true, may just be a microcosm of the real situation on the ground. Activities of MSM may predispose some of them and their other heterosexual partners to HIV. It is important therefore to have the requisite data for planning HIV prevention and treatment interventions.” The commission said a study was being implemented by GAC as part of a broader initiative to conduct HIV and