Achuei appeals for help in combating HIV/AIDS pandemic
The National Minister of Health, Elizabeth Achuei Yol, has appealed to the developing partners to support the country’s efforts to achieve the global target of eradicating the HIV epidemic in the country by 2030.
Achuei said the disease prevalence requires a considerable joint effort of the government and partners to ensure the end of the epidemic that has continued to affect a great number of people in Africa.
“In order to achieve the global target [of ending HIV by 2030], it is important to have the necessary tools to guide our implementation and improve the quality of work,” she said.
“I, therefore, call upon stakeholders to support the ministry of health’s HIV department to ensure that all partners use the guidelines as the standard measures to respond to the HIV epidemic in South Sudan,” Achuei stressed.
She was speaking during two joint events organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and ICAP in collaboration with the ministry of health at Dr John Garang Center for Disease Control on Thursday.
The events witnessed the inauguration of the modern Public Health Emergency Operations Centre. The facility was constructed and equipped by the WHO with funding from the African Development Bank. The launch and handover of the consolidated guidelines for prevention and treatment of HIV and data management unit were done by the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Program (ICAP).
The African Development Bank Country Manager for South Sudan, Themba Ghebhe, WHO South Sudan Representative Dr, Fabian Ndenzako and ICAP Country Director, Florence Baya, handed over the two facilities to the ministry of health.
Achuei thanked the development partners for investing in South Sudan’s health sector, pointing out that HIV/AIDs guidelines would improve service delivery to people living with the virus in the country.
Still a threat
“HIV/Aids remains a major public health threat with the prevalence of 2.1 per cent, according to 2021 projection and with 174,000 estimated to be living with HIV in South Sudan. Currently, the country has 35 per cent of citizens who know their HIV status of which 27 per cent are receiving ARV and 84 of those have their ARV suppressed,” she stated.
She added, “The Ministry of Health, in line with development partners, has made considerable efforts to address the HIV/AIDs epidemic in the country, and to ensure that we move towards achieving the global target of ending HIV/AIDs as a public health threat by 2030.”
In her part, the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Victoria Anib, said the African Development Bank and WHO has played a crucial role in strengthening the capacity of the ministry of health to reduce, mitigate, and manage the adverse impact of COVID-19.
“I would like to thank the African Development Bank and WHO for enhancing national health security and supporting us in the fight against COVID-18, and I request them to continue doing so,” said Dr Anib.
The two centres— the PHEOC and HIV Data Management Unit—would help South Sudan, which has continued to experience recurrent epidemic-prone diseases, and public health and humanitarian emergencies.
The emergency centre is a critical component of detecting and controlling any potential outbreak and serves as the strategic coordination centre for health emergencies, including the COVID-19 response.
The HIV Data Management Unit will enable the ministry of health to collect, manage and make informed decisions to prevent the epidemic using the HIV/AIDS guidelines.
Bhebhe said public health emergencies arising from public health threats continue to be a major concern in African countries.
He noted that South Sudan was particularly at risk, given the fragility of its health architecture.
“The handing over of South Sudan’s functional public health emergency operations centre is a watershed in the African Development Bank’s growing efforts to help the country fulfil obligations required by international health regulations.”
“The facility is a critical building block in helping South Sudan prepare for and respond to public health emergencies in terms of coordinating the preparation for, response to, and recovery from public health emergencies,” Bhebhe said.
WHO Dr Ndenzako described the establishment of the second phase of the Public Health Emergency Operations Center as “a key milestone in line with compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005) to strengthen communication and coordination for effective public health response.”
