About 298 HIV/AIDS cases were reported at health institutions in the Upper West Region last year out of which 28 of them died as compared to 348 reported cases with 22 deaths in 2005. Dr Daniel Yayemain, Deputy Upper West Regional Director of Health Services who announced this, said while reported cases decreased last year, the HIV prevalence among blood donors remained at 7.8 per cent as against the regional prevalence rate of 2.6 per cent. He was giving an overview of the HIV/AIDS situation in the region at a three-day Review Workshop in the Health Sector at Wa. Available statistics indicated that after an increase in reported cases of HIV from 141 in 2001 to 237 cases in 2002, it continued with 369 reported cases in 2003, 375 cases in 2004 and reduced to 348 cases in 2005 and 298 cases in 2006. However, Dr Yayemain cautioned that the reduction in its prevalence could not be the true reflection of what was on the ground because most of the cases could remain unreported and urged the people to be careful in their sexual relationships. He said the final hurdle for the provision of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) had been cleared with the installation of a CD4 count machine at Wa Hospital. Alhaji Zaid Tamimu, Upper West Regional Focal Person on HIV/AIDS announced that the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council had directed Municipal and District Focal Persons to identify people living with the disease. He said their premiums would be paid to enable them access free medical care under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Alhaji Tamimu said anti-HIV/AIDS clubs which were formed in some second cycle schools in the region but remained inactive would be reactivated to play a leading role as one of the strategies in combating the spread of the disease in the region. Dr Boamah Boateng of Upper West Regional Hospital at Wa, said 84 HIV patients had so far registered with the ART centre at the hospital with 33 of them under treatment. Source: GNA