The Ghana AIDS Commission will soon start distributing condoms to hotels that will accommodate guests who will be in the country for the Ghana 2008 tournament, taking place January 20 to February 10. The objective of the condom distribution is to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic during the tournament. Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoa, the Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) disclosed this in an interview with the Times in Accra Monday. He said the GAC with the support of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) will distribute 5,000 condoms to the hotels. He advised people to be mindful of the spread of HIV/AIDS as over one million visitors will enter the country for the tournament. Prof Amoa said the number of HIV/AIDS cases recorded as at 2005 and 2006 was over 300,000 out of which 21, 828 involved children between the ages of 0 to 14• Most of the cases were the result of unprotected sex, blood transfusion, and the use of unsterilised sharp tool. He said the youth, especially girls, should not be enticed by the money they will earn through unprotected sex with some of the visitors. They should place their health over monetary consideration, he said. Currently there are about 84 treatment centres nationwide catering for 11,500 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) while 21,000 PLWHA are on the waiting list. Source: The Ghanaian Times