Closing the HAT Detection Gap in South Sudan

Please refer to the attached file. What is happening nationally? Reported HAT cases continue to decline The number of reported HAT cases has fallen over time. However, HAT is only identified when people are screened and tested. Gaps in screening coverage, diagnostic capacity, and access to services mean that some cases may not be detected. Reported case trends should therefore be considered together with trends in surveillance and case-finding activities. Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a parasitic disease transmitted through the bite of infected tsetse flies. Without treatment, the disease is usually fatal. HAT progresses from an early stage with non-specific symptoms such as fever and headache to a late stage involving the central nervous system, causing neurological impairment, sleep disturbances and death. South Sudan remains one of the countries affected by HAT, with transmission concentrated in endemic areas of Western, Central and Eastern Equatoria, home to an estimated 3. 4 million people. This factsheet presents the current epidemiological situation of HAT in South Sudan, highlighting disease trends, program performance, remaining transmission hotspots, and priority actions to support elimination efforts. Reported HAT cases fluctuated between 10 and 50 cases per year during 2016-2025. Case numbers declined from 19 in 2016 to 10 in 2019, increased to 14 in 2020, and remained at 10 in 2021. A marked increase was observed in 2022 and 2023, when 30 and 50 cases were reported respectively, before declining to 26 cases in 2024 and 19 cases in 2025. Most confirmed cases over the period were identified through passive detection, although active screening contributed to case detection in some years, including 2023 and 2025. In 2025, more than half of all reported cases (10 of 19) were identified through active screening.

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