1.1.3. STUDY AREA
Kintampo district is located in Brong Ahafo Region in Ghana.
It is one of the 13 Districts in the Brong Ahafo Region. The District has a
surface area of 7162 square kilometers and is bound to the North by the Black
Volta, Wenchi District to the West, and in the East by the Atebubu District and
the Techiman and Nkoranza to the South and South East respectively.
The District has a population of 162008 inhabitants as of end
2004 (This is based on the year 2000 national population census), of whom 27541
(17%) are adolescents and 21060 (13%) are adults aged more than 50 years. The
main indigenous ethnic groups are the Bono`s (most found in Jema Health
sub-district), and the Mos (most found in New Longoro sub-district).
Settlements are mainly concentrated in the Southern part and a long the main
truck road linking the District capital to the Northern Region.28,30
For administrative convenience of health service delivery,
Kintampo District has been demarcated into 8 sub-districts with respective
populations below:
Table 1: Sub- districts of Kintampo District and
respective populations
|
Sub-District
|
Population 2004
|
Observation
|
|
Kintampo*
|
38,882
|
Table 1 shows that the most 2 populous sub-districts are
Kintampo and Dawadawa.
*3 Sub-Districts were the study
took place.
Source: DHD Kintampo 28,30
|
|
Dawadawa
|
34,345
|
|
Jema Health*
|
19,603
|
|
New Longoro*
|
13,771
|
|
Amona
|
15,877
|
|
Kunsu/Apesika
|
19,927
|
|
Anyima
|
11,827
|
|
Busuama
|
7,776
|
|
Total
|
162,008
|
As a whole there are 13 health facilities of which 9 (69%) are
governmental and 4 (31%) are private. 28
Farming is the main occupation in the District.
The 3 sub-districts under study are partly urban and rural.
While Kintampo sub-district is mainly urban, of heterogeneous ethnic groups and
even of multinational residents, New Longoro and Jema are mainly rural area of
homogenous ethnic group, respectively constituted mainly by the Mos and the
Bonos.
The main religion groups in the District and the sub-districts
under study are Christian and Moslem.
Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in
Kintampo District. Sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS are also
among the major public health problems in the District and the 3
sub-districts.28
The STI/HIV-AIDS situation in Kintampo District is favored by
the fact that Kintampo is a major transit centre for all kind of travelers
among them drivers and traders from foreign countries (Burkina Faso, Mali,
Niger....). A part from this fact, it is observed that, due to trading taking
place over 24 hours and girls/young women selling the whole night their
foodstuffs, drivers and other travelers are more likely to solicit those girls
for sex at early age , putting them at high risk of HIV infection. With the
high HIV-AIDS prevalence in adults aged 15-49 years which is the interval age
where most young people get married in the area, also given the trend of
HIV-AIDS prevalence among blood donors in 2004 and of reported AIDS cases in
Kintampo District Hospital and Annor Asare Memorial Clinic (18 cases in 1998,
24 in 1999, 45 in 2000, 52 in 2001, 108 in 2002, 142 in 2003 and 133 in
2004)30, the HIV menace is considerable in the area. Furthermore sex
workers in Kintampo welcome multiple partners, national and foreigner clients.
According to a reliable key informant source quoted in a previous study, they
require different price for unprotected sex which is expensive and protected
sex which is cheaper.32
Because nowadays premarital unprotected sex with multiple
partners seems common among young adults in the area, unmarried young adults
are at high risk of contracting HIV-AIDS before marriage.
So far one of the main activities carried out in 2004 in
Kintampo District was the intensification of Behavior Change Communication in
addressing the HIV/AIDS menace.30, 31
As yet Brong Ahafo Region runs only one VCT centre in
Sunyani43. To extend VCT coverage in the Region, one more VCT center
is planned to be implemented in Kintampo in the future.
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