By No. 1 Citizen
Government of South Sudan and its partners On Thursday, November 7, 2024, held an anniversary event to commemorate twenty years of the Global Fund Partnership in the country.
The event featured calls for renewed investment and support to combat HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, strengthen health systems, and achieve universal health coverage goals. Additionally, speakers emphasized the importance of empowering national institutions to manage grants sustainably.
They also expressed gratitude to the Global Fund for its support, which has enabled the provision of prevention, care, and treatment services for those affected by these three diseases.
Since 2004, the Global Fund has made significant strides in saving lives and addressing these diseases, which were once considered unbeatable and had caused immense suffering and loss. Today, the Global Fund stands as one of the primary funders of health initiatives in South Sudan.
Hon. Yolanda Awel Deng, the Minister of Health of South Sudan, presided over the anniversary event, along with various government officials, donors, implementing partners, and health working groups.
During her speech, Minister Awel called for renewed empowerment of the Ministry of Health and other national institutions to ensure effective grant management for sustainability.
Over the past twenty years, twelve grants funded by the Global Fund have been implemented in South Sudan, addressing HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), Malaria, and Resilient and Sustainable Health Systems (RSSH). In total, the grants amount to USD 799 million, with USD 671 million disbursed by September 2024.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has managed nine of the twelve grants since 2004, while Population Services International has overseen two malaria grants (2008-2011, 2012-2020). Additionally, UNICEF has been managing the malaria grant since March 2021.
Speaking during the anniversary event, Ms. Sheila Ngatia, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative – programmes thanked Government and partners.
“UNDP is honored to have been a partner in driving the country’s health transformation since 2004, serving as a Principal Recipient for nine out of the 12 grants,” she said. “UNDP is deeply grateful to the Government of South Sudan through the Ministry of Health, the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), the sub-recipients and all the other partners for the sustained trust, confidence and excellent collaboration over the past 20 years.”
The achievements made over the past 20 years include supporting 245 hospitals and health facilities that are currently offering HIV and TB services, extending HIV testing services to 5.4 million people between 2006 and June 2024 and enrolling 133,000 people on treatment for HIV between 2006 and June 2024.
Other milestones are installing solar in 19 hospitals and other health facilities which is improving the quality of care and enabling critical hospital operations to continue amidst power shortages.
Notably, the Global Fund partnership supported the country’s response and recovery from COVID-19, enabling 519,301 COVID-19 tests and equipping 120 hospitals and health facilities with handwashing facilities.
The UNDP – Global Fund partnership has been operating in what is now South Sudan for the past 20 years, supporting government efforts through the Ministry of Health, and partners to end HIV/ AIDS, TB, Malaria and to build resilient and sustainable systems for health.
Other efforts are, strengthening preparedness and response to pandemics and public health emergencies, as well as improving leadership and coordination at the Ministry of Health and the South Sudan AIDS Commission (SSAC) and other government entities to enhance the delivery of health services.
Through the procurement, storage and distribution of health supplies and laboratory reagents for HIV and TB, the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the Global Fund partnership ensures access to HIV and TB services in over 200 hospitals and health facilities across the country.
Currently, the Ministry of Health, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and partners are currently implementing the GC7 grant (2024–2026) funded by the Global Fund to consolidate gains, build resilient and sustainable health systems and support the country’s vision of ending HIV/ AIDS, TB and malaria as public health threats by 2030.
UNDP serves as the Principal Recipient (PR) for the Global Fund HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) and COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) grants on behalf of the Government of South Sudan. On the other hand, UNICEF manages the Malaria grant.