United Nations AIDS senior official on Wednesday welcomed South Sudan’s renewed commitment to fight new infections.
UNAIDS Deputy Executive Programme Director Luiz Loures said ‘these efforts are a testament to the resilience of the South Sudanese people and a clear sign of their desire to achieve a viable independent State’, UN News Digest reported.
Following a meeting with President Salva Kiir in Juba, Dr Loures emphasized the need to firmly engage the armed forces in the response to HIV.
He told UN peacekeeping mission troops in South Sudan to responsibly prevent gender-based violence and sexual exploitation in their operational zones.
President Kiir acknowledged the necessity to tailor HIV services to the needs of young people.
UN and other NGOs were providing condoms to the South Sudanese army to tackle HIV AIDS infection rates among soldiers estimated at over four percent.