The local authorities in Central Equatoria State’s Terekeka County, in collaboration with the State AIDS Commission, commemorated World AIDS Day in Terekeka Town on Thursday 5 December.
Speaking during the occasion, Terekeka County Commissioner George Wani Elia said the world can end AIDS if everyone’s rights are protected.
“With human rights at the center, with communities in the lead, the world can end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Terekeka County has one HIV medical center yet it has 10 payams, which is not enough for the population in the county. This one center is not enough,” he said. “From 2017 to 2024, Terekeka recorded 220 cases of people living with HIV/AIDS, 48 deaths from HIV/AIDS, and 73 people are on medication, while 101 infected individuals are hiding and are not taking HIV medication.”
The commissioner called on the communities in the county to ensure everyone, everywhere has the right to quality healthcare services in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Terekeka County.
“If anyone has AIDS here in Terekeka, he or she should go to the hospital because you will be given free medication,” Wani stressed.
For her part, Esterina Novello, Chairperson OF the South Sudan AIDS Commission, said her institution has recorded several divorce cases across the country as a result of disagreements between husbands and wives after being diagnosed with HIV.
“We have seen homes broken as a result of HIV/AIDS, we have seen divorce between men and women as a result of HIV/AIDS,” she revealed.
Novello encouraged men always to accompany their wives on antenatal visits to the hospital so that they know their HIV status to ensure the safe delivery of the unborn babies.
“Every pregnant woman should go to deliver in the hospital so that she can deliver a healthy baby,” she advised. “If you have contracted HIV/AIDS in your 30s, you can still live for 40 to 50 years or more. Some people have AIDS, but they have lived for more than 40 years, others can die at 70 or 90 years.”
On 1 December, the World Health Organization (WHO) joined partners and communities across the globe to commemorate World AIDS Day 2024 under the theme “Take the right path: My health, my rights!”
South Sudan currently has 189 centers that treat HIV/AIDS cases across the country.
According to UNAIDS, 160,000 people in South Sudan are living with HIV including adults and children.