HIV/AIDS Red Alert In Western Bahr El Ghazal, Sudan

Health officials in Western Bahr el Ghazal State have warned of a looming HIV/ AIDS disaster in the state if measures to control it are not put in place.

The Director of HIV/AIDS Testing and Counseling Department at Wau Teaching Hospital Natelina Waderif Ali has called upon the state residents to ascertain their HIV/AIDS status in order to control the spread of the disease.

Once referred to as the last untouched pocket of Africa in regards to HIV/AIDS prevalence, South Sudan particularly the Western Bahr el Ghazal State capital Wau, has today been hit by a massive threat of the scourge.

“All the ingredients for the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in South Sudan have crossed into our state and include the displacements as a result of the civil war, poverty, low school enrolment, the rudimentary health system as well as the powerlessness of women and girls as well as outdated cultural practices like widow inheritance”, Ali told Gurtong.

She said that in a bid to control the spread of the disease her department is now conducting awareness workshops, developing training modules, enhancing the capacities of local communities as well as establishing and supporting Voluntary Counseling and Testing centers among others.

“Our main approach of awareness has been the life skills education programme and integrated approach to provide the youth and women among others with several skills tailored toward behavioral change”, she said.

“We are also working on prevention of mother –to- child transmission and emphasising abstinence for the unmarried”, said Ali.

She pointed out that most of those getting infected with the disease are women, but added that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the state is still lower compared to neighbouring states.

Workshop

In related news, a 6- day HIV/AIDS workshop was organised by the South Sudan AIDS Commission in the Western Equatoria State capital Yambio.

The State Minister of Health Stephen Ali Komuyangi appreciated the role played by the South Sudan AIDS Commission in disseminating information on the disease amongst the local communities.

“This is the second war to be fought and the Ministry of Health is struggling to find ways of controlling the fast spreading of the disease in the state”, Komuyangi said.

He urged the participants to utilise the skills acquired at the workshop for the benefit of the common people in the villages.

He also announced plans to revive the three referral hospitals of Western Equatoria that include Lui Hospital, Maridi Civil Hospital and Tambura Hospital.

The Director of the State AIDS Commission (SAC) Jane Pia Bangbe told Gurtong that the objective of the workshop is to conduct the institutional assessment of SSAC and the participating stakeholders in order to determine the capacity needed for the effective coordination, planning, monitoring and evaluations of the expanding HIV/AIDS response.

“The workshop also intends to outline the plans for implementation and sub- project for the line ministries and to conduct result -based management trainings to enable the South Sudan AIDS Commission and the stakeholders carry out their mandate successfully”, Bangbe stated.

(Additional reporting by Clement Gbatanawo)