UNDP, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), hosted a donor engagement event at the Riverside Warehouse, Gumbo on 17 June 2025 to showcase the important work done with funding from the Global Fund. During the event, the UNDP Resident Representative Dr. Mohamed Abchir asked development partners to continue with their valuable assistance to South Sudan and to support the Global Fund’s 8th replenishment drive. Excerpts from his speech:

Since 2004, the Global Fund has increased action and investments to save lives, combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria – which claimed many lives and appeared unbeatable 21 years ago. Over the past two decades, a total of thirteen grants funded by the Global Fund have been implemented in South Sudan covering HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health components.

UNDP is honoured to have been a partner in this transformation, serving as a Principal Recipient for nine grants and is grateful to the Government of South Sudan, the Ministry of Health, the CCM, the sub-recipients and all the other partners for the trust and excellent collaboration over the years.

Reliable storage and distribution for health care

The Riverside Warehouse, Gumbo, that we are visiting today is a storage facility of essential HIV and TB drugs and laboratory reagents. The warehouse also stores commodities for Gavi and some essential medicines and other supplies for the Ministry of Health. Using these drugs, 245 hospitals and health facilities across the country offer essential HIV and TB services to all who need them. Several other hospitals and health facilities also get medical oxygen, and are supported to safely dispose of medical, pharmaceutical and hazardous waste through the incinerators installed in government and private health facilities.

Your Excellencies, I invite you to visit some of the facilities with us to witness these lifesaving interventions made possible by the generosity of the Global Fund and its donors. These and other milestones have been profiled into a video documentary that we have just watched and several other knowledge products.

Moving forward, we should work hard to protect and sustain gains made, save more lives, overcome bottlenecks to service delivery and make meaningful changes in people’s lives. We can see the impact directly with the beneficiaries who have shared their experiences of how important, and life-saving the Global Fund is to their lives. Their smiles, hope and resilience should inspire us to do more.