28/04/2016
The Apostolic Mission International (AMI) is a registered faith-based organization by the Registrar- General’s Department with registration No. G. 15, 026 here in Ghana. The organization is affiliated with the Department of Social Welfare, Tema, Tema Municipal Assembly (Local Government Authority) and duly recognized by the Ministry of Health and the Tema Traditional Council. AMI has been operating since the year 2000 in the Tema municipal area and other parts of Ghana. AMI is located on the African Unity Road, near the Kabila Roundabout, Community 5, Tema.
The AMI performs its health and social outreach activities via counseling and care giving to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and those positive persons or clients who had undergone recent diagnosis by the Voluntary Counseling and Testing Clinics at the Tema General Hospital and Tema Polyclinic.
The Tema local community and indeed the entire country’s response to controlling and prevention of the magnitude of challenges posed by the HIV infections with its attendant stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDs (PLWHAs) has become a critical national and international priority.
The deleterious effect of HIV on the infected and affected persons and the stigmatization and discrimination suffered by such persons in the home, neighbourhood, offices and the larger society to an extent accounts for the high rate of death of HIV/ AIDS persons. Fast deterioration of health due to self- stigma and withdrawal may lead to the refusal to take advantage of health facilities and social network necessary for confidence building.
Despite the negative effect that HIV/AIDS have on the population, labour productivity and the economy; the capacity, interest and willingness of inter-state actors and organizations to give out support have been very negligible because of attitudinal problems and lack of understanding about the issues involved, apathy and low priority settings to respond effectively and timely to the pandemic.
The promising news is that The Apostolic Mission International (AMI) has taken up the responsibility to respond to the menace of the HIV/AIDS disease through its outreach programmes. AMI uses the method of Home Based Care (HBC), counseling, adoption of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) and working closely with PLWHAs; to help enliven and reinforce these socially disadvantaged segments of our society with the power of the word of God.
This will enable us all to break the wall of self- stigma, withdrawal, denial, silence and above all avoidable death. Therefore, clients (infected), their relatives and friends (affected) will be encouraged by AMI to help cope with the emotional, physical and economic dimensions of the disease.
