The Western Bahr el Ghazal State HIV/AIDS Commission and its partners concluded a three-day workshop on strategic documents for Uniformed Forces Policy on HIV/ AIDS in Wau on Friday.
The workshop aimed to provide strategic documents, tools, and guidelines for the uniformed forces on HIV/AIDS and brought together commanders from the SSPDF, police, and other organized forces.
Speaking during the closing on Friday, Western Bahr el Ghazal state HIV/AIDS Commissioner Chairperson Miskin Hajar thanked the participants for their collaboration to eliminate the scourge in the state. He emphasized that the goal of the workshop is to enhance understanding of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
“The forces have a great role in providing awareness on HIV to the community, and we have been in cooperation with all the forces to carry our messages to the people in every institution,” he said.
On his part, the commander of the SSPDF’s Fifth Infantry Division in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, Major General Gil Mangok, said he was happy to attend the workshop and that he learned a lot about self-protection against HIV.
I am calling on all the participants to take the information they learnt to others in the barracks. If you did not understand anything, please ask so that you are given clear information,” he said. “It is our responsibility to go back and teach others about HIV and AIDS. We did not just come to take water or food, but to get knowledge to share with others.”
Meanwhile, State Police Commissioner Major General Abinigo Akol Ayoung urged participants to address current HIV issues within the organized forces.
“As forces, we cannot deliver if we do not put this (knowledge) into reality, so let us take this information to the people at our workplaces because all of us are providing services to the community,” he stated.
The police chief stressed the importance of educating colleagues about HIV/AIDS, noting that by sharing ideas, people can jointly combat diseases.
Meanwhile, Dr. Christopher Paul Madu, the representative of the Ministry of Health in Western Bahr El Ghazal, welcomed the initiative by the men and women in uniform to partner with the commission and the health ministry in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
He revealed that the prevalence of transmitted diseases in the state is currently at 1.9 percent, necessitating urgent intervention from everyone.