The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) will on Friday organize free Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) screening for residents during this year’s Farmers’ Day Celebration in commemoration of World AIDS Day.

World AIDS Day is celebrated globally every December 1 to raise awareness of the pandemic, which is caused by the spread of HIV infection.

Mr Wilberforce Ofosu-Dankyi, HIV and AIDS Focal Person for TMA, disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Tema ahead of the commemoration of World AIDS Day.

Mr Ofosu-Dankyi said because the Farmers’ Day celebration would bring together a large number of residents, the Assembly thought it wise to use the day to raise awareness on the disease and also provided voluntary counselling and testing for the general public to know their status.

He, therefore, urged residents to take advantage of the exercise to visit their stand at the Coca Cola Park at Tema Community Seven on Farmers’ Day.

He appealed to people to desist from stigmatizing people living with HIV and AIDS as that served as a disincentive for people to voluntarily test and know their status.

Meanwhile, the Ghana HIV Fact Sheet 2020 from the Ghana AIDS Commission indicates that the HIV prevalence rate in the Tema Region ranged between 1.7 and 2.9 per cent.

While the Tema Metropolis has a prevalence rate of 2.9 per cent, Shai Osudoku 2.8, Ningo-Prampram 2.5, Ada East 2.5 and Kpone-Katamanso 2.0.

The prevalence rate respectively for Tema West, Ashaiman, Ada West, and Krowor are 1.9, 1.8, 1.7 and 1.7 respectively.