WBGS Marks World AIDS Day

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Western Bahr el Ghazal State (WBGS) armed forces yesterday joined other citizens in a colourful ceremony along with students from various schools and the UN peace keeping forces in commemorating the World AIDS Day in the State capital Wau.

The Western Bahr el Ghazal State (WBGS) armed forces yesterday joined other citizens in a colourful ceremony along with students from various schools and the UN peace keeping forces in commemorating the World AIDS Day in the State capital Wau

The procession started from the peace play ground near SPLM State secretariat office to Wau main stadium were the keynote speeches were delivered.

This is the first time the State is celebrating world AIDS Day since Independence.

Acting Deputy Governor and a Minister for Local Government, Hon. Efisio Kon Uguak along with other distinguished guests led the commemoration in Wau.

Speaking during the celebration, Uguak warned the entire community in WBGS over practicing retrogressive practices like inheritance of widows whose husbands died of AIDS.

“Today, we are lucky that the commission has chosen Wau as a venue in the Republic of South Sudan to commence the World AIDS Day,” Uguak mentioned.

He urged the State to advise their youths against the alarming pandemic which has claimed thousands of lives in the country since 2005. “You must to use condoms as the spare part in your life,” he said.

“Today, I would like to thank the leadership of the Republic of South Sudan and specially the leadership of WBGS for their commitment towards HIV/AIDS response by celebrating this day,” said Lole Laila Lole, the Chairperson of People with HIV/AIDS in the Republic of South Sudan.

An unidentified lady disclosed to Gurtong that the WBGS Government refused to employ them in any institution even in the Government offices if they tested positive.

“With these tough conditions, many infected and affected people working in Government offices refuse to test their status due to these restrictions,” she said.

Our State does not care about your life if you are found HIV positive, it’s only the commission which is caring for us,” she disclosed.

“I was sacked from my position in 2006 when I tested positive while I was working in one of South Sudanese Universities,” she said. She called on the State government to employ her in any institution since she had the skills and ability to work.

This year in June, the United Nations General Assembly’s High meeting in New York on HIV/AIDS adopted bold targets for 2015, to reduce the sexual transmission of the disease by half through eliminating new infections in children, provide treatment for 15 million people living with HIV, end stigma and discrimination, and close the AIDS funding gap.