The Government of South Sudan, with funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), launched the Grant Cycle 7 (GC7) to consolidate gains and to strengthen the national response to HIV, TB and malaria in South Sudan from 2024 to 2026. The new grant was launched by the Vice President and Chair of the Services Cluster H.E Hussein Abdelbagi Akol on 14 February 2024. 

Valued at US$167 million, the grant comprises $50.2 million for HIV, $17 million for TB, $23.5 million for Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH), $53.3 for malaria, and $23 million for pandemic preparedness and additional RSSH. This is the largest Global Fund contribution to the people of South Sudan since its independence in 2011. This grant supports the country’s vision of ending HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria as public health threats by 2030 and seeks to build resilient and sustainable health systems, and strengthen pandemic preparedness and response.

As the Principal Recipient for the HIV, TB, RSSH and C19RM components, UNDP, on behalf of the Government and its partners, will manage a total of $116.3 million, which is also the highest amount under UNDP’s stewardship in recent periods. UNICEF will manage the component for malaria valued at $53.3million.

These components of the grant build on the achievements made through previous periods of Global Fund support. These include strengthening health systems, as well as the procurement, storage and distribution of HIV, TB, COVID-19 medicines, laboratory reagents and health supplies, which has ensured access to vital medicines and therapeutics in over 200 hospitals and health facilities across the country. The new grant seeks to reach and impact 91,500 people living with HIV with life-saving medication, and to treat and cure as many as 26,000 people affected by TB per year. It will also equip over 28 hospitals and health facilities with solar power installations, as well as providing a secure and reliable supply of medical oxygen countrywide.

The GC7 grant also seeks to reduce new HIV infections by 25% by 2026, reduce AIDS-related deaths by 25% by 2026, maintain above 70% coverage of combination HIV prevention interventions for key and vulnerable populations, reach 85% of HIV-positive pregnant women by 2026, reach 3,000 of HIV-exposed infants (HEI) with early infant diagnosis (EID) by 2026 and reduce HIV-related discrimination and other inequalities towards people living with HIV and AIDS.