Ghana's Justice Minster calls for workplace HIV, tuberculosis policies

Ghana's minister of justice and attorney general, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, recently called on private and public employers to create policies that would provide comprehensive care to employees living with HIV or tuberculosis, as well as their families, GNA/GhanaWeb.com reports.

Mould-Iddrisu was speaking at the launch of an HIV/TB workplace project in the capital of Accra. She said that people living with HIV and TB should receive support and information in their workplaces. She continued, "HIV has no national boundaries and is no respecter of the rich. Therefore, no country can afford to ignore the disease." Both private and public organizations should raise awareness about these diseases and address stigma surrounding those living with HIV/AIDS, she said.

Elizabeth Leiss, program manager for the German Technical Cooperation's HIV/TB Project, said the project will enable almost 1,000 employees of the Ministry of Justice and their families to access no-cost counseling, condoms and antiretroviral treatment at their workplaces. She said that the project plans to provide "prevention and diagnosis of HIV/TB, treatment, care and support of infected and affected employees and their close family members and enable a non-discriminative environment in the framework of an HIV/TB policy." Sakyi Awuku Amoah, director-general of the Ghana AIDS Commission, called on people in the country to collaborate and support the HIV/AIDS workplace project (GNA/GhanaWeb.com, 5/4).