USAID Supports Construction of Southern Sudan AIDS Commission Office
KHARTOUM, SUDAN - On August 3, the Government of Southern Sudan officially opened the new office of the Southern Sudan HIV/AIDS Commission in Juba, which was built with the assistance of the U.S. Government through USAID. The new office compound, which includes prefabricated buildings provided by USAID and permanent structures built by the Government of Southern Sudan, will give the AIDS Commission the work and meeting space essential for coordinating the response to HIV/AIDS in Southern Sudan.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with over half of the world's HIV-infected people. In Southern Sudan, infection rates vary in towns and counties; some areas show up to 12 percent of pregnant women have HIV.
The Southern Sudan AIDS Commission, established in 2006 under the office of the President of the Government Southern Sudan seeks to reduce the harm to Sudanese communities that HIV/AIDS can cause. The AIDS Commission works closely with several partners, including the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), implemented in Sudan by USAID and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The United States is the single largest donor to Sudan, contributing more than $2.6 billion toward assistance in Sudan and eastern Chad in FY 2005 and FY 2006. Through integrated humanitarian and reconstruction programs, USAID is helping the Sudanese people avert and resolve conflict while promoting stability, recovery, and democratic reform. This strategy emphasizes investment in community development and essential services to reduce tensions, rebuild communities, and encourage and sustain the return of displaced people. Support focuses on education, health care, governance, roads, and transport services.
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