THE Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA), have taken their avowed war on the HIV/AIDS pandemic to the doorstep of some selected first and second cycle schools in the Greater Accra Region.

Led by the Secretary-General of PAWA, Prof. Atukwei Okai, the winners of the PAWA literary competition titled "African writers against HIV/AIDS" visited Achimota Secondary School, St Johns Grammar, Accra Girls Secondary School and Bishop Girls Junior High School to read their winning entries to the admiration and appreciation of the students.

The visits were also meant to inspire students to write creative stories which could bring about moral and behavioural change.

PAWA, in collaboration with AWARE/HIV/AIDS had earlier honoured the award winners at an impressive ceremony at PAWA House in Accra earlier this month.

The winners were Ms. Priscilla Ametorpe Goka and Ms. Yehoda Naa Ayeley Tetteh, both Ghanaians, Mr. Bizo Aboubacar, from Niger and Mr. Bengone Foe Boniface from Cameroon.

The competition, organised by PAWA last year with funds from AWARE/HIV/AIDS for young writers, was conducted across 18 West African countries to create literary works that could help halt the HIV/AIDS menace that has been ravaging Africans.

The winners for both the French and English categories received cash prizes of $2000 each and a certificate while the second-placed writers took home $1000 and a certificate each.

The Secretary-General of PAWA in welcoming the guests explained that the various national writers’ associations submitted the best three entries in their respective countries upon which a jury made up of seasoned writers and people in academia, assembled in Accra to select the four best stories: two in English and two in French.

Professor Okai explaining the rationale behind the literary competition, the first of its kind to be organised by the continental body, noted that, PAWA, after coming to terms with the mind boggling HIV/AIDS statistics in Africa, decided that "it was time to deliberately devote its energies to the celebration of life rather than death in Africa".

Congratulating the award winners, the chairman for the ceremony, Nene Prof. Jonas Akpanglo-Nartey, Head of the Department of Applied Linguistics, and former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, called on young African writers and the seasoned as well, to create literary works that could enforce moral and attitudinal change in the lives of the people.

The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Gladys Norley Ashitey, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the function, bemoaned the ever-soaring HIV/AIDS records in Africa and Ghana in particular. "Our records indicate that, an estimated 312,000 people in Ghana are living with HIV/AIDS out of which more than 71,000 need antiretroviral treatment," she noted.

The rest of the patients according to her cannot receive treatment because of lack of resources. She therefore added her voice to the persistent call by the National AIDS Control programme on the government to extend HIV/AIDS treatment sites to all the 138 districts by the year 2009.

Dr. Ashitey commended PAWA for organising the literary competition because, "the Pan African Writers’ are in the best position to sensitise their fellow Africans and to escape the ravages of the terrible pandemic."