Ghana has joined the world and the UNAIDS to mark the International Protect the Goal Day on June 9, 2014 just days away from the start of the 2014 Brazil World Cup.
According to a communiqué issued by the Ghana AIDS Commission, Protect the Goal is a global HIV advocacy linked to football and the Ghana AIDS Commission recognizes the support of President John Dramani Mahama and his government, the technical team and players of Ghana’s Senior National Team, the Black Stars, the rather large number of social, media, arts and other celebrities that joined in the Ghana Campaign.
The campaign is seeking to achieve the vision of a world with zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths, through the galvanizing power of football.
The communiqué further states that the campaign has three specific objectives – to raise the global awareness of HIV, to encourage young people to commit to HIV prevention, and to emphasize the need to ensure that all people eligible for life-saving anti-retroviral treatments can access it by 2015, deadline for the UN Millenium Development Goals.
“We are happy that the collaborative efforts of all partners and personal support of the President resulted in a successful public advocacy campaign that reflected the objective of the Protect the Goal Campaign”, Dr. Angela El-Adas, Director General, Ghana AIDS Commission stated.
Dr. Angela El-Adas further stated that while the global campaign launch is on-going in Salvador da Bahia, we will in Ghana mark the International Protect the Goal Day by distributing condoms and HIV & AIDS related educational materials to the youth at a number of venues, including the Opera Square in Accra. There will be free and voluntary HIV testing and counseling during the exercise and a focused message to ‘Practice Safe Sex’, ‘Know Your HIV status’, ‘Use Condoms’ and ‘Reduce Sexual Partners’.
As we commemorate the day in Ghana, and lend our support to the Black Stars, we should all be mindful of our actions and inactions and consciously resolve to protect ourselves from HIV infections by practicing safer sexual behaviors.
Source: ISD
