Yolanda Awel Deng, Minister of Health speaking during the launch of the national guidelines for the management of symptomatic sexually transmitted infections and HIV self-testing in Juba. April 7, 2022 - Courtesy

The World Health Organization says less than half of HIV-positive pregnant mothers in South Sudan are screened for HIV to prevent its spread to their unborn babies. WHO

WHO made this revelation in Juba on Tuesday during the launch of the “triple elimination initiative” for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and hepatitis B.

South Sudan’s ministry of health and WHO target is to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and hepatitis B by 2030

According to WHO majority of pregnant mothers are not aware of their status for Syphilis or Hepatitis B.

The World Health Organization made the revelation on Tuesday during the launch of the “triple elimination initiative” for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and hepatitis B by 2030

In February, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) published new research from the Netherlands that revealed the existence of a more transmissible and damaging variant of HIV. variant

The report revealed that people living with the newly revealed variant, experience double the rate of immune system decline and have higher viral loads.

The research shows that those people are also vulnerable to developing AIDS two to three times faster after diagnosis, than if they were living with other strains of the virus. news.un.org

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute.

HIV remains the deadliest pandemic of our time. UNAIDS

According to UNAID, an estimated 79 million people have become infected with the virus, since first discovered in the early 80s, it still no vaccine and no cure.

UNAID says some 36 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the pandemic and 1.5 million people were newly infected in 2020.

Of the 38 million people living with the virus today, 28 million are on life-saving antiretroviral therapy, keeping them alive and well and preventing transmission. HIV

In 2020, UNAIDS data shows that in South Sudan, HIV continues to be a public health priority with an estimated prevalence of 2.5% among adults aged 15-49 years with 18% of the estimated PLHIV 190,000 on treatment.