Rwanda launches 6-month campaign to intensify HIV response
Rwanda is set to accelerate HIV awareness campaigns over the next six months targeting the country's young people in order to cut the new virus infection rate, the Health Minister said on Sunday during national commemoration of World AIDS Day.
The event in Rubavu district in western Rwanda was marked under the national theme: "End AIDS, my responsibility” which calls for collective action from all citizens with the focus on youth involvement in HIV response.
The national prevalence of HIV among adults in the country stands at 2.2 percent, with prevalence high among vulnerable populations such as female sex workers at 35 percent, according to official figures.
Speaking at the event, Sabin Nsanzimana, Rwandan Health Minister said Rwanda has made good progress in reducing the impact of HIV over the last over a decade after reducing new infections by 70 percent and AIDS related deaths by 60 percent since 2010.
Looking at new infections “there are almost 10 new HIV infections in Rwanda every day, it is not a small number, and mostly they are young people 18 to 20 years. This means we have a lot of work to do,” said Nsanzimana.
“In the next months we should be focused on areas where we can make a big impact; number one is to make sure young people are well-informed, and communication is key,” he said.
Calling for more efforts to fight stigma, the minister said the government’s wish is to bring new ways of HIV treatment in the country by shifting to six-month injectable instead of daily pills.
Nsanzimana noted that during a six-month HIV response campaign launched on Sunday will also particularly target vulnerable populations.
A new UNAIDS report released ahead of World AIDS Day, called Take the Rights Path, shows that upholding rights is the pathway to an HIV response that is inclusive and sustainable.
“This is one of the areas where Rwanda has been progressive in terms of enabling policy and legal environment whereby people living with and those at risk of HIV are not criminalized, which has greatly contributed to the success of a program that is well grounded on human rights,” said Hind Hassan Abdalgalil, the UNAIDS Country Director for Rwanda.
She added Rwanda has been able to achieve the targets set for 2025 and is well positioned to achieve the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
AIDS-related illnesses claimed 630,000 lives last year, while 1.3 million people worldwide were newly infected with HIV, according to the UNAIDS report.
According to the report, about 39.9 million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2023, an increase of 900,000 compared to 2022.
