Trainees complete HIV/AIDS course in Juba

3 Oct 2011

Trainees complete HIV/AIDS course in Juba

17 August 2011 – Some 30 military and civilian participants graduated today from an HIV/AIDS course organized by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the South Sudan Aids Commission (SSAC) in Juba.

The 18-day course, held at the Government Accountancy College, was aimed at boosting understanding of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted illnesses (STI) as well as counselling principles.
The training was also meant to promote Voluntary Confidential Counselling and Testing services throughout the new nation and curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, which is estimated to affect three per cent of the population, according to the South Sudan Ministry of Health.
Participants were drawn from the country's military and police as well as prisons and wildlife services and the Club for People living with HIV. They also came from UNMISS military, police and civilian components. Eight participants were women.
UNMISS Chief HIV Unit/Policy Advisor Michael Munywoki said the training had stimulated a change in attitude among attendees, which would serve as a key factor in the fight against AIDS.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, South Sudan AIDS Commission Chairperson Esterena Nyilok called on participants to spread the knowledge they had gained to others in enhancing national efforts against the disease. "The fight against HIV/AIDS needs the collective responsibility of everyone," she said, adding that the Commission alone could not win the war against the disease.
Ms. Nyilok said that HIV/AIDS was not only a public health problem but a social and economic issue, which attacked the workforce, especially youth, who were the backbone of economic growth.
Brig. Gen. Zakaria Atem Mangok, speaking for the prisons system, urged uniformed personnel to fight AIDS as they did during the 21-year civil war. "Go to the field and beat the drum of war against AIDS."
Special Representative of the Secretary-General Hilde F. Johnson said in a statement, "I congratulate all those who have graduated today with the support of UNMISS. And I want to encourage them to (share) their knowledge with people ... so that together we can ensure a better future for all people of South Sudan."
Participants from the Club for Persons with HIV/AIDS called on the government to enhance its support for infected and affected persons in fighting AIDS.
"The government should support people with HIV/AIDS and children orphaned by AIDS," said Hamis Jumma, who suffers from the disease.
He added that people with HIV/AIDS were capable of doing the same jobs as others and urged the government to give them a chance to work. "If the government supports infected persons, other persons who are hiding ... will come out and this will reduce the spread of HIV."
In a statement she read on behalf of trainees, UNMISS Gender Affairs Officer Hellen Samuel said the training was effective in providing participants with basic knowledge and skills to conduct counselling.
Ms. Samuel requested UNMISS, other agencies and the government to assist trainees with practice in counselling before they performed the task themselves.
The SSAC commissioner, high ranking army officials and participants also asked UNMISS to conduct similar training programmes as part of the capacity building needed by the new nation.
Mr. Munywoki assured participants and officials that UNMISS would organize similar trainings, including in South Sudan's 10 states.