Harare (Zimbabwe), Dec. 304, – Ghana is participating in the 22nd edition of the International Conference on Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) in Harare, Zimbabwe, which is a major bilingual international aids conference that takes place in Africa.
The Ghanaian delegation is made up of officials from the Ghana Health Service, the Ghana AIDS Commission, and the National AIDS/STI Control Programme.
The delegation includes Dr. Stephen Ayisi Addo, Programme Manager, National AIDS/STI Control Programme; Dr. Samuel Kwabena Boakye-Boateng, Upper East Regional Director of Health Service; and Mr. Majeed Sulemana, also from the Upper East Regional Health Directorate.
The others are Ms. Gifty Boakye, Mr. Philip Boakye, Mr. David Adika, and Dr. Raphael Adu-Gyamfi, all from the National AIDS/STI Control Programme; Ms. Gifty Addo-Tetebo, from the Eastern Regional Health Directorate; and Mr. Jacob Acquah Andoh, Ghana Health Service Headquarters.
According to conference documents obtained by the Ghana News Agency in Harare, Zimbabwe, ICASA 2023 presents a tremendous opportunity to highlight the diverse nature of the African region’s HIV epidemic and the unique response to it.
The ICASA 2023 briefing document also indicates that, according to the 2020 Global Fund COVID-19 Funding Report, the emergence of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on the most vulnerable communities across the African continent and around the world.
As such, COVID-19 threatens progress made in mitigating the impact of HIV, TB, and malaria globally, as the ICASA document explains.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ayisi Addo, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Harare, Zimbabwe, stressed that Ghana must not relent in the nation’s goal of becoming an AIDS-free country in conformity with the Africa agenda.
He said it is imperative for Ghana to continue to learn from and rely on the dynamics of innovations and recent scientific advances to confront emerging threats.
Dr. Boakye-Boateng also told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the biennial International AIDS Conference is the premier convening for all individuals, governments, and communities working in the field of health.
He said it also offers global and national leaders, people living with HIV, private sector partners, and others committed to ending the epidemic and strengthening the health systems in Africa an opportunity to engage and share best practices.
Dr. Boakye-Boateng noted that ICASA presents a tremendous opportunity for researchers and clinicians worldwide to share the latest scientific advances, learn from one another’s experiences and expertise, and develop strategies for advancing all facets of the global collective efforts to end AIDS across Africa and around the world by 2030.
The Society for AIDS in Africa is the main organiser of ICASA, which works in collaboration with its international and local partners.
