By Albert Futukpor, GNA

Tamale, Dec 02, GNA – Health AID Africa (HAA), a non-governmental organisation, has called on individuals, groups and communities to encourage their members to get tested to know their HIV status.

This was in a statement issued by HAA to mark this year’s World AIDS Day celebration, and was signed by Mrs Georgina Akua Padi, its Executive Director, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale.

World AIDS Day celebration is marked on December 01, every year, and this year’s celebration is on the theme: “Ending the HIV and AIDS Epidemic: Community by Community”.

The statement said people, who would test positive, should remain on treatment to suppress the virus.

It said “Prospective mothers should know their status and stay positive to prevent Mother to Child Transmission of HIV. This way we will eventually realise an HIV free nation and Africa”.

Ghana, like most African countries has adopted the United Nations AIDS Fast Track Targets, which states that by 2020, 90 per cent of all persons living with HIV should know their status. Also, 90 per cent of all persons, who know their status, should be on treatment; and 90 per cent of persons on HIV treatment should have viral suppression.

The statement said “If all these are achieved by 2020, Ghana, and for that matter Africa is on its way to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030”.

It congratulated all stakeholders for the immense support to help realise an HIV free generation in the coming years saying HAA’s vision was to have a society, where everybody had access to universal quality health care delivery.

It called on members of the public to continue to keep the agenda to respond to realise an HIV free generation by 2030.

GNA