By Matik Kueth
The Vice President for Service Cluster, Hussein Abdel-Bagi, reiterated the government’s commitment to collaborate with humanitarian partners in the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Sudan.
Speaking at the High-Level National Dialogue and Engagement on HIV Prevention in Juba on Tuesday, Abdel-Bagi said the government is aware that HIV is still a pivotal public health concern in South Sudan.
“It gives me pleasure to preside over this high-level dialogue on HIV prevention in South Sudan and particularly to affirm the commitment of the government of South Sudan, working with all partners and the communities to end AIDS as a public threat. The government is mindful that HIV remains a major public health challenge in South Sudan,” Abdel-Bagi said.
He noted that despite continuous efforts, South Sudan continues to face significant obstacles to expanding comprehensive HIV prevention programs, which slows the decline in new HIV infections and jeopardizes the nation’s overall objectives for controlling the disease.
Abdel-Bagi commended partners for their ongoing assistance, citing the Global Fund, PAPERS, UN AIDS, UNDP, the UN co-sponsoring agencies of the UN joint program on HIV, and other donors whose work has contributed to a 45 percent reduction in new infections since 2010.
“While this is way lower than the average rate of 59% in the region. We know that South Sudan is faced with many challenges, including a protracted humanitarian crisis and hard economic challenges. I am aware that South Sudan, through the technical support of South- Sudan’s Learning Network, joined the Global HIV Prevention Coalition, GPC, since March last year, 2023. I urge all the HIV actors and stakeholders in the country to utilize this GPC platform to learn more, to learn from others, and to share lessons. Various assessments indicated that several challenges are limited progress in HIV prevention in South Sudan, which include, but may not be listed. One is underfunding of HIV prevention programs. Two, our dependency on external funding source, which is also reducing.”
The Vice President for Service Cluster underlined the importance of giving priority to the main pillars of HIV prevention, such as a tolerant program that caters to the special needs of the most vulnerable groups, especially young women and men, adolescent girls and boys, and those affected by humanitarian disasters and displacement.
He also emphasized the significance of raising HIV awareness and facilitating simple access to services for testing and treatment.
Abde-Bagi urged stakeholders of the HIV sector to encourage candid communication with the nation’s pertinent government institutions.
“I therefore urge all stakeholders in the HIV sector to promote open dialogue with the relevant government institutions to come up with responses that address the challenges facing South Sudan,” he stressed.
In South Sudan, 8100 new HIV infections occurred, representing an incidence of 0.56 per 1000 people without HIV infection. 140,000 people are HIV positive, according to the most recent UNAIDS estimates 2023 figures, which were released in the 2024 Global AIDS Report. The prevalence is 1.6 percent among adults aged 15–49, 0.7 percent among young women aged 15–24, and 0.4 percent among young men aged 15–24.