Standard Chartered Bank staff march against HIV [Photos]

The Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Kweku Bedu-Addo, has called for an intensification of the fight against HIV/AIDS as the rate of infection among young people appears to be rising in recent times.

According to Mr. Kweku Bedu-Addo, beyond the creation of awareness, there is the need to focus on the avoidance of discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

“The Standard Chartered Bank since 1999 has been involved in these efforts, we work in emerging markets and we have seen the impact of HIV so for us HIV/AIDS awareness creation and prevention is paramount”, Mr Bedu-Addo added.

The Staff and Management of the bank embarked on a 3 kilometer walk through some parts of Jamestown, Makola, and the Accra High Street to create awareness and educate the indigenes of the area on HIV/AIDS, the causes and the prevention.

The walk was dubbed “Red Ribbon Race” and was under the theme “HIV doesn’t discriminate; People do”.

As part of the walk, condoms and brochures on HIV/AIDS were distributed to the residents of Mantse Agbona, James Town and Kantamanto. They were also educated on condom usage and also sensitized to avoid the stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Kweku Bedu-Addo observed that “people seem to place more emphasis on pregnancy and not HIV/AIDS, and this is worrying. This means the nation needs to do more with regards to sensitizing the youth. ” Residents of the area expressed satisfaction and happiness with the education they received, but Mr. Kweku Bedu-Addo called for new strategies to be devised so that more people can be reached in subsequent exercises. The CEO of Standard Chartered Bank further noted that the bank provides assistance to staff members who contract the HIV virus, adding the bank has a strong non-discrimination policy.