Cara Beck
Soc. 202
11/24 9:30pm
Funding delays, lack of resources, stigma, and an unaware population are all current dilemmas in southern Sudan. There is currently about an 80% gap in funding, a needed $656.12 million, but a current balance of only $124.16 million has been secured. These delays were caused by the South Sudan AIDS Commission's inability to manage and maintain their money especially with the security problems that some southern states face.
In 2007 the SSAC planned to open offices in 10 southern states. The director of the program, just one individual among many, is "mobile" or without an office due to the lack of funding. He says that the lack of an office is the smallest problem he faces in his daily work.
Some people in Sudan think that those refugees who return to the Sudan after fleeing the current conflict are bringing back the disease into their country. In reality, however, refugees are returning from the Congo and East Africa- both places have a much higher awareness of the pandemic than the Sudan.
It is still "taboo" in Sudan to have any sort of open discussion about sex, yet many Sudanese men and women partake in high-risk behavior. For example, studies have shown that 25% of all men in southern Sudan report consistent condom use with casual partners. Most frightening though, is the fact that 50% of women surveyed in the region have never even heard of the virus, nor can 70% of women name the three main ways it is transmitted.
This is not just a cause for concern for the citizens of Sudan, but for the world. If one place on Earth still perpetuates the disease and is less than aware of the means of transfer, the world is at risk.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports
1 comment:
I agree that this issue is something that everyone should be concerned about. Sudan is experiencing this problem now, but the rest of the world is at risk so everyone needs to get educated and help do something about it.
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