Sarah West at International HIV/AIDS Alliance in UK: swest@aidsalliance.org Tel: +44 (0)1273 718949 / 07590358391
Immediate release
Florence Bayao is Country Director for Alliance South Sudan. A baseline study recently conducted as part of a UK government DFID project has highlighted the low use of reproductive health services in South Sudan. Many health facilities lack basic equipment and most of the maternal and neonatal health workers lack the necessary skills to perform simple life saving and nursing procedures, particularly as over 80% of deliveries take place at home or under the supervision of village midwives or relatives, explains Florence. With less than 20 hospitals in the whole country if a woman does experience complications during pregnancy or childbirth theres little that can be done about it. Knowledge and awareness of HIV among women is very low. In the 2010 Household survey only 54% of women had ever heard about AIDS and of those who answered, 59% didnt know that HIV could be prevented by using a condom. The majority of women dont have any knowledge that HIV can be transmitted from a mother to a child, which is the greatest source of HIV infection in children below 15. With no intervention 2445% of babies born to HIV infected mothers will acquire the virus. At the end of 2009 South Sudan had only 19 facilities providing Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) services. There are huge practical challenges in delivering effective PMTCT services in South Sudan, not least addressing the acute shortages of HIV testing kits, antiretroviral prophylaxis for mother and exposed child, safe delivery services and infant feeding advice. We are working with DFID to raise awareness of the links between HIV and maternal mortality, and advocate for the development of national policies that establish community referral pathways for HIV positive women and their families, says Florence. What is needed is for formal national PMTCT training packages to be in place so that we can scale up the programme and get more staff trained. Communities play a crucial role in increasing awareness, access and uptake of services and the Alliance will be working with communities to do this. Women are the backbone of many communities and it is they who can make a real difference to the wellbeing of people in those communities but we need to give them the health care they need and have a fundamental right to, she adds. Ends.
Editors Notes:
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance (www.aidsalliance.org) began working in South Sudan in 2005 and in 2009 Alliance South Sudan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Southern Sudan AIDS Commission (SSAC) to be the lead agency in strengthening civil society in the response to HIV. Alliance South Sudan now supports 90 community based organisations across 18 counties in four of Southern Sudans 10 states. More than 90% of the population of South Sudan lives on less than $1 per day and poverty rate is estimated to be between 40-50%.