Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - September 8, 2005
Banks appear to be motivated by wanting to ensure that all loans granted are repaid.
However, Professor Awuku Sakyi Amoa, director general of the Ghana Aids Commission, on Wednesday said the banks' decision is contrary to Ghana's official position on HIV/Aids -- that people should not be discriminated against due to their HIV status.
The Ghana News Agency quoted Amoa as saying the commission was not aware of such steps by the banks. Ghana has an HIV prevalence rate of 3,1%.
He said Ghana's policy prescribes voluntary counselling and testing as a key strategy in the management of HIV/Aids throughout the country.
HIV/Aids, he added, which has become manageable through medications, should now be ranked the same as diabetes and hypertension, and the banks were not demanding medical certificates for these conditions, he noted.
"HIV/Aids is now a routine disease just like hypertension and diabetes," he said. "A person who goes in for a bank loan could even die overnight and as such it is wrong for any bank to demand compulsory HIV/Aids testing."
Amoa said under the national policy, it is wrong for anyone to make such demands, including those related to compulsory testing before employment, enrolment into schools or contracting marriages.
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