Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDs are the leading causes of death among the displaced people in South Sudan, the World Health Organization has said.

However, WHO is yet to reveal death figures.

In a statement published on the WHO website, the health agency says access to quality prevention, care and control services is extremely low in among the internally displaced.

The WHO says there are about 180 000 people living are with HIV in the country.

It says three people in a group of 100 are likely to have been infected with the virus.

Currently, less than 15% of people living with HIV know their status, of which about 20 000 have access to HIV treatment, it says.

There’s no latest information on TB, but earlier WHO report showed that there were 10,250 cases of the disease as of 2015.

“In spite of the limited resources available in the country, expanding access to ART using the public health approach (including decentralization, task shifting, simplification and standardization) and community and patient engagement is vital to increase access to treatment,” says Dr Abdulmumini Usman, WHO Representative to South Sudan.

Many clinics treating the cases, it says, are receiving increased number of patients among the displaced.

The organization says that the low capacity of health workers and poor coordination are the key challenges limiting access to HIV lifesaving treatment in the country.

However, the health agency says it is working in partnership with Ministry of Health in strengthening capacity to provide HIV prevention, care and treatment services to populations in the Upper Nile region.

It says the area is heavily affected by the conflict, which hinders provision of the services as aid workers cannot access many areas.