A Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwuma Odoom, on Wednesday warned questionable non-governmental organisations (NGOs) whose main aim is to thrive on the IDV/AIDS platform without producing any results to desist from such practices or face the full rigours of the law. He however commended the hardworking ones whose activities had helped to bring down the national prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS from the previous 3.6 percent to the current 2.22 percent. Mr Odoom, who was launching a Ghanaian NGO, Woyome Foundation for Africa (WOFA), said that a sentinel report for 2006 released in April, this year indicated that the HIV prevalence among pregnant women was 3.3 percent. The foundation is a charitable organisation aimed at providing care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and protection for orphans and vulnerable children. It is committed to putting in place various systems to provide domestic support and educational scholarships for orphans and other vulnerable children. WOFA's other areas of interest would be the provision of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), promotion of voluntary HIV/AIDS counselling and testing and education on prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Mr Odoom stated that much of HIV/AIDS success story had been through the establishment and the use of decentralized institutional structures for implementation, co-ordination and management. He said while 48,403 people were in need of anti-retroviral treatment in 2006 only 8,500 people were provided with the treatment. "Prevention of new HIV/AIDS infection should be vigorously pursued through the promotion of safer sex practices, provision of safe blood and blood" products and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission," Mr Odoom added. He therefore appealed to organisations, such as WOFA and the district assemblies, to implement HIV/AIDS intervention activities. The Project Co-ordinator, Mr Vitus Nanbigne, said the harrowing destruction being caused by the disease should be confronted with the involvement of all stakeholders. He announced that an African international conference on HIV/AIDS would be held in Accra in November, this year while an African Life Aid Live Concert would also be organised by WOFA in Accra in March, 2008 to raise funds in support of HIV/AIDS projects. In addition, a 350-room project would soon be constructed to be a centre of research, treatment and other HIV/AIDS related projects and programmes to augment the existing facilities in Ghana and Africa in general. Source: Daily Graphic