WASHINGTON, DC - Today, USAID's Sudan Deputy Mission Director, Susan Fine, will inaugurate the opening of an HIV/AIDS resource center in southern Sudan, on December 1-the 22nd annual World AIDS Day. Services provided at the resource center will include education on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, counseling and testing, referrals for other services and treatment, and recreation activities, particularly for youth.

The new center was established through the Sudan HIV and AIDS Program (SHAP), implemented by Family Health International, and funded by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through USAID. It is the second center USAID has established in southern Sudan focused on HIV/AIDS-related services. The first was established in Juba in July 2008 and continues to serve the Juba community.

The new center will serve the population in and around Kaya, a busy town in southern Sudan on the Uganda border, along a major transport route serving the southern Sudan towns of Yei, Juba, Rumbek, and Wau. During the journey from Juba to Kaya, Fine will also visit hospitals and primary health care centers where USAID-funded partners offer HIV counseling, testing, and education.

The resource center is a collaborative venture between the local community, the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), and USAID. The community will be actively involved in its day-to-day operations on a voluntary basis, while GOSS has provided the hospital and land where the center is located. The hospital will work jointly with the center in providing services to patients.

In the coming month, approximately eight community groups, also near the border, will receive USAID funding for HIV education on behavior change, home-based care, and peer educator training. They will also become part of Kaya Resource Center's collaborating group, and contribute to the functional organization of the center.

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The American people, through USAID, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years. For more information about USAID's programs, please visit http://www.usaid.gov.