Southern Sudan HIV Campaign Reaches over
6,000 People

Last week, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) HIV/AIDS Secretariat wrapped up a successful HIV/AIDS education and counseling and testing campaign that reached more than 6,000 people. The campaign was conducted in collaboration with IntraHealth International’s Reducing the Impact of HIV Project and centered around World AIDS Day with the theme “get tested for HIV, stay alive.”

The ten-day campaign reached more than 1,000 people with mobile HIV counseling and testing services alone. These services started at an SPLA training center then moved to different locations: SPLA division headquarters, a military barracks and a military training center, then to police and prison headquarters, wildlife and fire brigade headquarters, and finally into the center of the town of Bor.

Another 5,000 people were educated by IntraHealth and SPLA members about basic HIV/AIDS information, including how HIV is transmitted and can be prevented; how to use condoms; where to seek HIV counseling and testing; and treatment and care. IntraHealth also organized 400 uniformed officers to march in two World AIDS Day parades—one in Bor, and one in Juba—and taught an additional 91 military commanders about  basic HIV/AIDS information and advocated with them to support HIV/AIDS programs.

In addition, IntraHealth worked with the Ministry of Health HIV/AIDS Directorate to plan an eight-day national HIV counseling and testing campaign. IntraHealth-trained SPLA counselors offered HIV counseling and testing in the Central Equatoria state.

The Reducing the Impact of HIV Project is led by IntraHealth International and funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To learn more, please visit our website page on Southern Sudan.