Everyone’s focus is on the South Sudanese conflict and we are slowly forgetting that the war on HIV/AIDS must not stop, so much that the trend of using anti-retroviral drugs instead of condoms is going unnoticed
South Sudanese s3x workers take anti-retroviral drugs after unprotected s3x. These drugs are often obtained illegally from clinics. Photo: Africa Review
South Sudanese s3x workers are choosing to have unprotected s3x and pop post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) antiretroviral drugs instead.
“We don’t have money, so when we meet a client who offers more money than we usually get to have s3x without protection, then we will do it – even when we don’t know his HIV status,” says Jane, a s3x worker in South Sudan.
The national rate of HIV infection stands at 2.6 percent according to South Sudan’s AIDS Commission, while the national army (SPLA) has a five percent rate of infection.
The war on HIV/AIDS should not be abandoned because of the South Sudanese conflict, especially when antiretroviral drugs are being obtained illegally in clinics.
Source: Key Correspondents, Voice of America
