South Sudan’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and its partners have on Thursday launched the HIV/AIDS guidelines to help in the prevention and treatment of the pandemic and a data management unit to facilitate emergency response operations.
Speaking to journalists during the handover ceremony in Juba on Thursday, Minister of Health Elizabeth Acuei Yol hailed partners for their support.
“As we launch the updated national consolidated guidelines for prevention and treatment of HIV in South Sudan, we confirm that South Sudan is now in line with the world and adapting and implementing the new WHO recommendations. These new guidelines will set the platform for all partners implementing HIV/AIDS to have a standardized approach to respond to the HIV pandemic in South Sudan,” Minister Achuei said.
For his part, US Deputy Head of Mission in South Sudan Mr. William Flens said, “The United States is also proud to partner with the ministry of health and the WHO in helping to revive the national HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines to provide for the emerging needs of HIV programs with evolving science on HIV treatment and therapeutics.”
While the Ministry of Health Undersecretary Dr. Victoria Anib said, the guidelines will improve the lives of the people living with HIV/AIDs in South Sudan.
“We have achieved the milestone of launching ARV guidelines. The people living with HIV in South Sudan need quality services, they need to live with dignity, and providing services for them is our priority,” she noted.
During the same event, MOH inaugurated its Public Health Emergency Operations Center designed to respond promptly and effectively to public health risks and emergencies of international concern.
“I am impressed by the real-time progress from the data unit that we have launched today. This is an indication that our surveillance system, our data system is working, and we can quickly detect and prevent many of the outbreaks and other diseases in a real-time manner. But also use real-time data to be able to inform our programs promptly,” WHO Country Representative Dr. Fabian Ndenzako said.
Also speaking during the same event on Thursday, African Development Bank representative Mr. Flavio Soares said, the bank remains committed to supporting South Sudan in its development efforts.
“The government of South Sudan has taken full ownership of the project which is demonstrated today. This ownership is critically important and African Development Bank is committed to supporting the government of South Sudan development efforts,” he said.
The center is part of a $4.2 million African Development Bank grant-financed Covid-19 response project that included procuring an oxygen plant, vehicles, a wide range of essential medicines, lifesaving biomedical equipment, and personal protective equipment implemented by the WHO.
According to the Ministry of Health, over 174,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in South Sudan. Currently, only 35% of the population know their HIV status while 27% are receiving ARVs treatment according to the ministry of health.