National leaders from the beginning kept quiet from declaring AIDS a ‘national disaster’.
South Sudan Network of People Living with HIV AIDS chairman Lole Laila said national leaders in their meeting in Rumbek before the establishment of the AIDS Commission said the endemic was not yet a priority because South Sudan had a lot of other priorities.
UN Women Deputy Country Director, Firas Gharaibeh, said his office is supporting the establishment of the Women Living with HIV AIDS Association to take a lead in addressing their difficulties.
He said their office is exerting efforts to bring the issue of women living with HIV AIDS into the spotlight.
UNAIDS Strategic Information Advisor Boaz Cheluget Kiprop called on the participants to address stigma, discrimination and harmful traditional practices at family level in all societies.
He called on all stakeholders to exert concerted efforts to empower women living with HIV AIDS to fight HIV AIDS in the country.
The speakers were talking during a consultative meeting with people living with HIV in Juba on Friday.