Increasing global conflicts and climate crises have greatly affected responses to the HIV epidemic. In South Sudan, where ongoing conflicts and frequent natural disasters exacerbate these challenges, the effects on health-care systems are particularly severe. Compounded by economic and political instability, the country’s health system remains under-resourced and heavily reliant on external funding. The national progress towards the 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets has been painfully slow, partly due to insufficient concrete data for assessing these targets. The two main funders for HIV in South Sudan, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), rely on UNAIDS estimates for funding allocation. These estimates, which come with considerable uncertainty, indicate that between 41% and 62% of individuals living with HIV knew their status in 2023. The estimated HIV prevalence was 1·6% in 2023, with less than one in two people living with HIV receiving treatment. 

AAA continued engaging in the fight against HIV in order to alleviate the suffering of affected people.

HIV Indicators Versus Targets

Other achievements for TBHIV in 2024

• 54 TB club/ambassador meetings were conducted to ensure early retrieval of treatment interrupters which led to adherence hence improved treatment success rates among all patients registered.
• There was commemoration of the annual WORLD TB DAY that was observed on the 24th of March, some of the AAA TB Sites managed to conduct some TB awareness activities to mark that day whose theme was “Yes! We Can Yes! # End TB!”
• On the 1st of December 2024, most of the AAA supported States managed to commemorated the World AIDS DAY, whose theme for was Take the rights, My health, My Right”.
• Semi Annual meetings for mentors were conducted in Aweil, Kuajok and Wau.
• STBHIV coordinators’ supportive supervision visits were carried in 3 States
• Peer Navigators were recruited and assigned tasks in the community which included the sensitization, tracking of lost to follow up and drug refills. They were received their monthly incentives up-to the end of December.
• In the 3rd quarter of the year, the PR reinstated the budget line for sample transportation, hence thus AAA had to contract a service courier company that supported the transportation of samples from the spokes to the hubs and then onward shipment to the NPHL Juba.
• There were 2 supportive supervision and mentorship missions in Rumbek and Yambio facilities.
  144,245 people benefitted from the health education TBHIV messages that were passed in various avenues.
• 3 States had joint supportive supervision missions that had the following team members (UNDP, SMOH and AAA). All the mission findings were shared with AAA who immediately embarked on corrective measures in all the locations visited.
• 34 HIV sites were facilitated with quarterly operational costs which included procurement of the office stationery, patient files etc.
• Quality assurance visits from the main TB units to the peripheral facilities were conducted. Errors identified during these visits were corrected on the spot.
• There were outreach activities that were conducted in 5 locations in the course of the year. The yield for these outreaches that were conducted among mobile populations (Refugees, Returnees and IDPs) were as below tabulated