Over my dead body: Manifestations of stigmatisation and discrimination against PLHIVs by children in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana

Stigma and discrimination against PLHIVs could be social, physical, verbal or institutional and each or a combination of them could worsen the health condition of the affected person. Such people are often given names which are described as derogatory or insults. These observations have generally emerged from social researches on HIV/AIDS which have focused entirely on adult population. This study therefore assessed the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of children (9-13yrs) towards PLHIVs in Cape Coast Metropolitan area of Ghana. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in three contrasting study sites (urban, peri-urban and rural). Data collected from the over four hundred and fifty children were both quantitative and qualitative in nature. Majority of the respondents were of the view that HIV/AIDS could be contracted through mosquito bite or witchcraft. Most of the respondents were unwilling to eat or sleep with a PLHIV. They were also neither ready to be taught by a female teacher who is HIV+ or buy fresh vegetables from an infected person. It was recommended that behavioural change communication programmes should also focus on children.