The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) Ghana with support from the Young African Women Leaders Forum, a fund under the US Embassy, is organizing a three days confidence building training for Kayayee starting from November 22-24, 2011 in the SWAA Ghana office.

In her opening address, the President of SWAA Ghana, Ms. Nancy Ansah stressed on the need for Kayaye to take the opportunity available to them and transform their lives. She told the participants to learn all that they could and live meaningful lives.

Ms. Jeanne L. Clark, the Information Officer in the Public Affairs Section of the American Embassy informed the participants of the workshop that President Obama and Hilary Clinton believes in the power of each woman to live a fulfilled live and also help change her community.

This power is best fulfilled when women network, exchange ideas and pledge together to make a difference. She invited them to visit the US Embassy on Friday December 2, 2011 for some IT and internet tutorials with the aim of participants acquiring some email and other social media platforms to communicate with their families back in the northern part of Ghana.

The project facilitator Aku Xonam Kevi, SWAA Ghana National Coordinator also stressed on the need for participants to think differently and allow the information about to be received affect their enterprises positively. Other resource persons are Ms. Angelina Ephraim and Mrs. Cecilia Lodonu Senoo.

Who are Kayayee

Kayaye are female porters who are usually migrants from the three Northern regions of Ghana to the south to carry loads in the markets for money. These are termed vulnerable groups in SWAA Ghana’s women and HIV advocacy programmes because lack of secured accommodation makes many Kayayee objects of sexual abuse and other forms of domestic violence acts.

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"Universal Access and Human Rights: Addressing the Challenges of Women"

The much awaited SWAA Ghana Annual Conference took place on August 2 & 3, 2011 at the GNAT Hall, near the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council in Accra. The theme for the conference was “Universal Access and Human Rights: Addressing the Challenges of Women”.  

The purpose of the Conference was to bring HIV positive people together from the whole of the country to meet stakeholders, especially policy makers in health, gender and resource allocation, to tell their stories and have an effective platform to affirm their challenges.

The conference was therefore to provide opportunity for many People Living with HIV, representatives of various networks of PLHIV to think together and present a document that would contribute to the delivery of HIV services in Ghana.

More importantly, the conference provided a focus on women’s challenges in accessing prevention information and services, treatment, care and support.

Over four hundred PLHIV from all the ten regions of Ghana participated in the conference and contributed meaningfully to discussions on the topic. About 30 organisations also honoured SWAA Ghana’s invitation to the conference.

In her keynote Speaker the Hon. Juluiana Azumah Mensah, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs,  reiterated government’s support for to the conference topic.

“As I acknowledge a general lack in Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment Care and support, I also acknowledge that women have specific challenges in accessing ART and other HIV services as has been the case in accessing many other social facilities and amenities”.

Women’s weak political and financial position affects their ability to access treatment and other services concerning HIV and their sexual health. 

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