Dr Senanu Kwesi Djokoto, Acting Volta Regional Director of Health Services has called on the public to disregard a false publication making rounds on social media platforms about an HIV incident in the Ho Technical University (HTU).
He said the Directorate’s attention had been drawn to an online publication by ‘an unverified and unknown news portal ‘ajnewonline.com’ with the headline ‘Hookup Trend Leads to HIV Outbreak at Ho Technical University: Over 400 students suspected positive.’
Dr Djokoto in a press release copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the publication had subsequently been quoted by various social media actors without any form of due diligence.
He said the publication must be disregarded by the public because it was ‘false and unfounded.’
Dr Djokoto said a review of the HIV testing data in all the health facilities in the Ho Municipality and the rest of the Volta Region do not suggest an increase in recorded HIV cases within any facility or the region.
‘For the avoidance of doubt, the region states emphatically that there has not been a surge of HIV cases in the Ho Technical University or any other tertiary institution in the Volta Region.’
He said the Directorate had over the period successfully implemented several strategies to fight HIV/AIDS, which sought to reduce new infections by 85 percent and eliminate mother-to-child transmission.
Dr Djokoto urged inhabitants to avoid stigmatization and fully lend themselves to the disease awareness campaigns and tailor-made services that met their specific needs to consolidate the gains made in HIV prevention, testing, and treatment.
In a separate development, Dr Christopher K. Amehoe, Registrar, Ho Technical University, said the University’s Health Service had no such information on the University as published.
He advised the public to desist from sharing the false publication since it had the potential of damaging the hard-won image and reputation of the Institution.
Dr Amehoe noted that the Management of the University shall institute legal action against any person sharing the said false publication.
Source: Ghana News Agency