Our HIV project in Arua is integrated into the local HIV care infrastructure and focuses on children and adolescents, and on patients with advanced HIV disease or a high viral load. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted physically distanced consultations. However, we lost contact with our Congolese cross-border patients from March when lockdown measures were implemented and were unable to provide them with medication. While most of our cross-border patients resumed their treatment in July, our efforts to trace around 13 percent of them were unsuccessful.
Also in Arua, MSF outreach activities support victims of sexual violence in the Omugo and Imvepi refugee settlements, hosting hundreds of thousands of mainly South Sudanese refugees who fled conflict in their homeland. Mental health support for refugees and host communities is available too.
We stand ready to respond to emergencies such as disease outbreaks and displacement caused by natural disasters or violence.