Cape Coast, Feb 18, GNA – Mr Napoleon-Bonaparte Afenyo, President of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) branch of the National Union of Ghana Students, on Thursday said the branch was prepared to go all out in ensuring that the student front in Ghana remains HIV/AIDS free. “This is the sure way of maintaining a strong and healthy human resource base that is the cornerstone in achieving the country’s developmental goals”, he added.
Mr Afenyo said this at a ceremony to launch Miss UCC 2005, which takes place on Saturday April 9 under the theme ”abstinence, the key to HIV/AIDS prevention’.
He said the event, known as HIV/AIDS Ambassadors night, started two years ago and has grown to become the single most important event on the calendar of UCC.
”Miss UCC is not an ordinary beauty pageant but one that seeks to identify the hidden talent of the university’s ladies and moulds them into a tool relevant to the fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic.” Mr Afenyo said their target for the year is to send out peer educators, under the tutelage of Miss UCC 2005, to the immediate environs of the university to educate children on the need to remain virgins for as long as practicable.
He appealed to the Ghana Aids Commission, corporate organisations and NGO’s to assist them.
Miss Michaelina Addo-Okyere, Miss UCC 2004, in a speech read for her, urged the female students to patronise the contest so as to contribute to the fight against the HIV/AIDS menace. Rev Cannon Dawson Amoah, Senior Assistant Registrar, stressed the need for all to take keen interest in the fight to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
He suggested the introduction of “Mr UCC” to complement the effort of Miss UCC, as a positive step in ensuring the achievement of results.
Source: GhanaWeb
