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After realizing that the HIV/AIDS is not only a health problem but a
development problem, the National AIDS Control Commission (PNLS) was
transformed into the CNLS
- National Aids Commission and moved from the Ministry of Health to
the Office of the President. Through The CNLS and other projects
like Protection and Care
of Families against HIV/AIDS Project (PACFA) headed by the First Lady
of Rwanda, a lot is being done to scale down the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
The Treatment and Research Aids Centre (TRAC) was also created to
define treatment and care standards as well as to provide training and
certification in HIV/AIDS care provision.
The CNLS has released the four National Strategic Plans for HIV/AIDS for
2002-2006 as well as the National multi sectoral plan for 2002-2006, which
are built around five main pillars.
Overall plans seek to strengthen and reinforce health and support
services and strategies in the areas of:
-
Awareness-raising, prevention, testing, counseling and services for
People Living With HIV/AIDS
(PLWHA);
-
Enhancing management and coordination and;
-
Reducing prevalence of the virus among particularly vulnerable groups
including military, women, truck drivers, school youths and
unaccompanied children, people compelled to sell sex to survive,
people engaged in unprotected sex and babies born to mothers with
HIV/AIDS.
From the workshop held in
Kigali
, 4th November 2004, the President of CNLS Archbishop Emmanuel
Kolini said about 700 people are infected every day in
Rwanda
.
The workshop targeted high-level officials
from government, private sector civil society aimed at providing a
platform for all leaders and stakeholders to sign an agreement of
partnership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.
Rwanda
is one of eight pilot countries in eastern and southern to have
participated in the project in 1999 involving trials for use of
antiretroviral to minimize the possibility of HIV infection from mother to
child.
Research shows that, two years after its
setting up only 3.8 percent of the children born to HIV positive mothers
were infected. This indicates that had there been no intervention, the
rate of infection among the newborn babies would have averaged 25 percent.
HIV/AIDS is a tough battle however aiming optimistic we can overcome it.
The CNLS and the Government are supported by significant funds from
Global fund and the World Bank Multi-Country Aids HIV/AIDS Programme (MAP)
and a number of International donors.
Challenges
The key challenges threatening the fight against HIV/AIDS include:
Prevention and Behavioral change;
-
There is need to enhance access to health services and to promote
contraceptive use with a particular emphasis on the dual protection
function of barrier methods. The rate of condom use is still very low,
(only 2.4 % of the population use condoms);
-
The small number and low use of Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT);
-
Urgent need to promote Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT)
through capacity building;
-
Care for PLWHA. Although a
national association of PLWHA was recently created there is little
coordination among PLWHA associations and little external support; and
-
Hiring and training health district workers and improving the HIV/AIDS
drug distribution mechanism
References:
Protection
and Care of Families Against AIDS Project (PACFA)
Commission
Nationale de Lutte contre le SIDA au Rwanda
Millennium Development Goals
Rwanda Status Report 2003
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