Caption: Vice President- service cluster H.E Hussein Abdelbagi lighting a candle at the AIDs Day commemoration ceremony. 2023. Photo: © RCO

The government and partners are calling for an end to stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV in South Sudan, while encouraging young people to joint awareness campaigns on ending the epidemic.

This was during the commemoration of World AIDS Day organized in Juba this morning.

The day is celebrated under the theme “Take the Rights Path” which emphasizes on the need for an inclusive approach in HIV response and ending inequalities related to the epidemic.

Vice President for Service Cluster, Hussein Abdel Bagi, said with the youth making up 70% of the country’s population, it is important for them to be at the forefront of efforts to tackle the public health crisis.

Abdelbagi encourages young people to intensify awareness campaigns on sexually transmitted diseases and how to prevent them.

“Ending AIDS in the country requires effective participation of youths in HIV response. In South Sudan, youths are the most sexually active given their reproductive age,” the vice president underscored.

“HIV prevention is now our greatest pillar and behavioral change as well as living responsibly is key in changing the face of the epidemic in this young nation.”

“I encourage the youths to take forefront stand to intensify awareness of HIV, Tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections and other infections.”

On her part, the Chairperson of South Sudan HIV/AIDS Commission, Dr. Esterina Novellio said lack of resources is one of the factors hindering HIV/AIDS intervention.

She laments that financing HIV has been a big challenge for her commission and the national ministry of health.

“Despite the mentioned achievement, the progress is stalling because HIV service are not reaching the groups that need it the most due to multiple factors including lack of resources for HIV/AIDS interventions.”

Lole Laila is a representative of the South Sudan Network of People Living with HIV in the country. He called for an allocation of a percentage in the national revenue towards national HIV programs.

Lole further appeals for support to persons living with AIDS with income generating skills.

“The current financing remains a significant constrain with less than 1% of the national budget allocated for HIV response.”

“We advocate for domestic funding through a proposed system that allocate a percentage of the national taxes towards HIV programming. The government should support persons living with AIDS associations with income generating activities to ensure the continuity of HIV services.”

According to the latest UNAIDS estimates, South Sudan has about 140,000 people living with HIV, with a prevalence rate of 1.6% among adults aged 15-49.

Abdelbagi, the Chairperson of the Service Cluster, recently said HIV/AIDs remains a significant public health concern in South Sudan, with 8,100 infections in 2023 alone.

The vice president said enforcement of prevention measures was slowed down by limited funding and emphasized awareness campaigns to sensitize populations about the importance and treatment of the virus.

According to him, various assessments indicated that several challenges are limiting progress in HIV prevention including underfunding of HIV prevention programs dependency on external support.

Health Minister Awel has also expressed dismay over the limited funding allocated to the health sector in the annual fiscal year budget, adding that the underfunding frustrates reforms implementation in the health system.

She underscored that the government allocated only 1.3 percent of the 4.2 trillion-pound fiscal year budget to the health sector, which is less than the 2% allocated in the 2023-2024 and will only cater for salaries and incentives of health workers.

South Sudan has some of the worst health indicators in the world, with the maternal mortality ratio estimated at 789 deaths per 100,000 live births, child mortality rate at 93 per 1,000 live births, and infant mortality rate at 60 per 1,000 live births.

According to Health Pooled Fund, access to healthcare service remains a challenge for many communities in South Sudan, and even reaching a health facility does not guarantee access to appropriate care.