hiv/aids and human rights boogie night in koforidua

By Mac- Darling Cobbinah

May 19, 2005: Ghana - Recent Ghanaian media reports have sharply focused on gay and lesbian hideouts in Ghana. And they also picked up that the eastern region of Ghana as the "most gay populated region" in the country. This came out on both media and print reports.

According to 2004 HIV sentinel and demographic health surveys, the region remains the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence region in Ghana. To date, there has not been any survey on which questions the spread of HIV among men who has sex with men and their partners.

Though for most Ghanaians, gay and lesbian people are evil and an abomination to god, there is no stopping the swelling numbers of young men and women who want to live a gay lifestyle. There have also been students who have been expelled from schools and homes for practicing homosexuality. This phenomenon is increasing the number of uneducated and uninformed LGBTI who are at risk of contracting HIV and other STIs.

The gay and lesbian association of Ghana (GALAG) was the first organization to break the silence when it organized a party last year concurrently with a birthday for its national director, to bring to the LGBTI community's attention the importance of safe sex. Experience has also shown that most men don't regard unprotected sex with a man as being more susceptible to HIV than sex with a woman.

Last weekend marked another night of activities in a region with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in Ghana. GALAG organized a party under the theme, "HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Information Night." This brought together the LGBTI community from within the region and the nearby towns. The program also brought together "older" gay men. Some of these men are ostracized by the gay community for lack of energy.

The Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana (CEPEHRG) and the West Africa Project to Combat AIDS and STI (WAPCAS) were both present to formally educate men about the risk of unprotected sex as well as to demonstrate to the audience the safest ways to use a condom. The emphasis was on condom and lubricating gel usages. These are just some of the skills that were previously non-existent in the region.

A representative from WAPCAS directed the audience to their new office in the region to buy condoms and lubricants at subsidized prices. He also advised them against HIV/AIDS and STI's. In Ghana, as in most African societies, obtaining condoms and lubricants at a counter is not as easy regardless of the logic behind such an action.

CEPEHRG distributed four hundred units of male condoms and twenty five femidoms while lubricants were sold to the audience. The national director of CEPEHRG took time to share his experience from other countries including African countries with high prevalence of HIV/AIDS with the audience. He also took the audience through the proper usage of condoms and how to effectively use a lubricating gel. He also explained the importance of the use of water-based lubricants to the audience and cautioned against the usage of non-water based lubricants as this increases the chances of friction and breakage.

Mac- Darling Cobbinah is the Executive Director at the Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights in Accra, Ghana.