The project promotes HIV-AIDS awareness and testing in remote settlements in the Omilling countryside, an area facing one of the highest concentrations of HIV-AIDS infection in Sudan.
During the civil war, rebels frequently stormed area settlements in the dead of night and gang-raped women, sometimes infecting them with HIV-AIDS. When thousands of refugees flooded Omilling after the peace agreement was signed in 2005, many of them brought HIV-AIDS with them too. Today, between 20 and 40 percent of people in Omilling settlements test positive for HIV-AIDS compared to 2 percent in Sudan as a whole. The HIV-AIDS epidemic is devastating the war-ravaged community.
The project provides promotes HIV-AIDS prevention, treatment, and testing through locally trained women and outside testing experts. It also provides HIV-positive women with women-led support groups to help them cope with rape aftermath/social stigma
Reducing the annual toll of new HIV infections by enabling individuals to protect themselves and others will save thousands of lives. Providing care and comfort to women HIV-AIDS victims will empower them and their families to rebuild their lives.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
