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Government worried by effect of AIDS on women

    JOHANNESBURG
    Ghana's Deputy Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, Kofi Poku-Adusei, has expressed concern over the rate at which HIV/AIDS was creating orphans. The Ghana News Agency quoted Poku-Adusei as saying: "The new dimension of the disease is the creation of a rapidly growing orphan population ... statistics reveal that more than three million children have lost both or one of their parents to HIV/AIDS and the vast majority of these live in sub-Saharan Africa." Urging Ghanaians to examine critically the threat posed by HIV/AIDS, Poku-Adusei noted that current AIDS figures should serve as a "wake-up call" for the country's women. Research shows that of a total of 64,591 HIV/AIDS cases recorded at the end of 2002, more than 39,000 were women, while just over 25,000 were men.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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