VP Hussein Abdelbagi (Middle) Central Equatoria deputy governor, HIV/AIDS Commission chairperson, deputy special representative of UNMISS and Central Equatoria MoH pose for a picture during the launch of the document in Juba. Dec 3, 2024. (Photo: UNDP South Sudan).

The South Sudan HIV/AIDS Commission launched a three-year HIV Prevention Strategy on Tuesday in a bid to bring down new infections of the epidemic in the country.

The 2025-2027 strategy which is estimated to cost around 124 million U.S. dollars is designed to align with the global strategy of ending the virus a public health threat by 2030.

The document was launched on the World AIDS Day by Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi, who pledges commitment to mobilize resources for the implementation of the document.

“We are launching this document on HIV prevention Strategy. we launched it from today on wards and we are going to work to mobilize the resources for implementing this document,” he said.

For his part, Gabriel Atillio, Director for HIV Prevention at the South Sudan HIV/AIDS Commission, said the document was assessed and analyzed based on the current situation in the country.

He added that the document has an inclusive operational plan that – if implemented – would see South Sudan become an AIDS-free country by 2023.

“The purpose of this document is to have our national prevention strategy aligned to the global strategy and the road map. The vision of this strategy for this three-year plan is to reduce the epidemic, then we want to see AIDS free South Sudan by 2030.”

“The objective is to reduce number of HIV infection, this document has an operational plan which is inclusive. The total budget for this document is one hundred and twenty-four, eight hundred and forty-four million US dollars. In our pockets is napkins we do not have any paper.”

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.

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.

Meanwhile, Vice President Abdelbagi recently said HIV/AIDs remains a significant public health concern in South Sudan, with 8,100 infections in 2023 alone.

He 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.