The 100-day ‘Right to Health’ campaign in South Sudan
The 100-day ‘Right to Health’ campaign in South Sudan is a joint initiative targeting members of the uniformed services including the military, police, prisons, fire brigade and wild life, who rank among the population groups most affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.
Recent research shows that military personnel are two times more likely to contract STIs than the civilian population with 5 per cent HIV prevalence compared to 2.5 in South Sudan general population. During conflict, this factor can increase significantly.
HIV continues to take a tremendous toll on human health in South Sudan, with between 180,000 and 200,00 people or 2.5 per cent of the population, estimated to be living with HIV. 13,000 people were estimated to have died of AIDS related illnesses with 14,000 more being newly infected, according to latest 2018 Global Monitoring report and Ministry of Health data.
The 100-day campaign is spearheaded by the HIV and AIDS secretariats in the ministries of defense and interior, in collaboration the Ministry of Health, the South Sudan AIDS Commission and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS.
With over 150 counselors and testers already trained and deployed in different parts of the country, partners seek to test 1 million people and start nearly 20,000 people on anti-retroviral therapy (ARVs) immediately upon testing positive, while also offering a package of health services for HIV prevention, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), family planning, malaria, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), which is endemic in the country.
Partners hope that, as a result, members of the organized forces may also become important agents for behavioral change in reversing the spread of HIV within their ranks, families and beyond.
The environment in uniformed services is also seen as a unique opportunity to provide HIV and AIDS prevention and education for South Sudan’s population. They represent an ideal medium for instilling widespread awareness about HIV and AIDS and encouraging safer behavior among a significant percentage of the sexually active population.
This initiative also presents opportunities for more engagement of men and boys in the response to HIV, a precursor to decrease the epidemic of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in South Sudan.