Dr. Esterina Novello Nyilok, the Chairperson of the South Sudan AIDS Commission - CREDIT | Lou Nelson/Eye Radio | Nov. 30, 2021

JUBA, (Eye Radio) – South Sudan HIV/AIDS Commission has announced the availability of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) drugs enough to last for the next two years, contrary to a World Health Organization (WHO) assessment that the country could run out of the lifesaving medication in just one month.

WHO warned during a press conference in March 2025 that South Sudan was among 8 countries in the world to run out of ARV drugs in the coming month due to disruption on the global HIV program.

The agency’s global director of HIV Dr. Meg Doherty listed Kenya, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Lesotho, South Sudan, Haiti and Ukraine as the affected nations. While Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the disruption in HIV program could undo 20 years of progress which would lead to potential rise in prevalence and fatality.

But addressing the media in Juba on Tuesday, April 15, South Sudan HIV/AIDs Commission Chairperson Dr. Esterina Novelo clarified that the U.S. foreign aid cut has not caused a significant impact, as the Global Fund will continue donating HIV drugs for the next two years.

“The current global fund project that we are implementing through which we procure drugs for malaria, TB and HIV is ending in 2026. So we have like two years to go from now,” she said.

Dr. Esterina further narrated that health workers have resumed operations in their designated facilities, and encouraged people living with the illness to visit clinics and take their drugs.

“The reason why we are having this conference is to inform our clients, all the people living with HIV, to go back and access the services they used to access. We have the drugs available, the doctors are there, the nurses are there,” Esterina continued.

“All the services are provided on daily basis. They should not shy away from going to the hospital because some of them still have that phobia when they found the clinics closed, that it means it’s not functioning. We have opened them and they are functioning fully and they should access their treatment without any interruption.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Esterina said the commission has set up community interventions through volunteers working as monitoring staff and refilling the drugs for those who are unable to come to the hospital. She said the volunteers also provide care to those too ill to visit clinics.

On his part, Peter Garang Ngor, Executive Director for Network of Aids and Health Service organization of South Sudan (NASOSS) revealed that only 200 out of over 1,000 health facilities in South Sudan that have HIV services.

Garang also noted that little programs have been initiated to reach everybody to test and know their HIV status across the country.

“We still have a vast number of populations in this country that do not know what HIV is, they don’t test HIV services, that are just left. They don’t protect themselves from HIV.”

“The few numbers we have is an estimate and that estimate is drawn from only antennal care because we don’t have programs that reaches everybody to ensure that everybody tests and know the HIV status. So, in terms of the gap, we still have a wider gap because the government is not putting in any single money in interventions.”

The Deputy Chairperson of the HIV/AIDS Commission, Dr. Achol Ayom, appealed to the national government to utilize the country’s resources to support the health sector instead of relying on foreign aids.

“The government must to increase the budget of HIV commission, to increase the budget of health center. It’s like education, because education is part of us too.”

“Because through the school we can spread the word of HIV. Community should be supported, because you remember our people, they believe in their chiefs. And I think this is one of the things we could use to reduce or to let people know what is HIV and how they can protect.”

“The country is so rich. South Sudanese. We have a lot of money. We have gold. We have oil. We have so many things. Even our fish, water, we have it. Let’s think how we will support the health sector through our own, not depending on anyone.”

The AIDS commission further revealed that Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Central Equatoria, Jonglei and Western Bahr el Ghazal are leading in HIV/AIDS infection rates.

Following President Donald Trump’s executive order in January 2025 suspending all foreign aids from his country, the U.S. Department of State sent ‘stop work’ orders to staff and contractors of USAID around the world.

Among key organizations affected by the temporary pause is the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has been crucial in supporting vulnerable countries in fighting the pandemic.

In February 2025, a non-profit organization working to empower people living with HIV in South Sudan, revealed that around 70,000 people have been directly affected by Donald Trump’s 90-day suspension of U.S. foreign aid.

The National Empowerment of Positive Women United (NEPWU) Executive Director, Mama Evelyn Letio, said the PEPFAR program used to donate $1 million annually to the South Sudanese organization and accounted for 75% of the organization’s budget. Ms. Letio revealed that within an estimated number of nearly 200,000 people living with HIV in South Sudan, nearly 70,000 rely on international assistance.