By Kayitare J.Bosco
Over the last twenty years (20) Rwanda has been leading the fight against HIV/AIDs and related diseases compared to the other East African counterparts. Through the years Rwanda managed to maintain the prevalence rate at 3% compare to its neighbors Kenya at 4.5%, Uganda at 5.4%, Tanzania at 4.5% respectively of which its neighbors rates have been changing periodically.
Through the support of the government of United States of America, via the Presidents Emergency Plan for Relief (PEPFAR) which leads the effort in fighting against HIV/AIDS and partners in Rwanda like Global Fund has managed to provide much needed Anti retroviral Drugs for thousands of patients.
Through the support of PEPFAR over the years Rwanda Biomedical center has been providing education, testing, treatment and support for art- risk Rwandans.
Dr. Gallican the Head of National HIV, STIs and Hepatitis at Rwanda Biomedical center (RBC) says; “our mandate is to ensure the reduction of the number of new infections of HIV, viral hepatitis, other sexually transmitted infections and opportunistic infections, support enhanced care and treatment of people living with HIV, and reduce the number of HIV and viral hepatitis related deaths. We want to have a zero new HIV infection Rwanda.”
According to the data from the Ministry of Health (MOH) over the last two decades the government of Rwanda has managed to provide ARVs to over 200,000 Rwandans with this life support medicine.
To date some known Tuberculosis (TB) patients who are HIV/AID positive have been successfully treated at a rate of 86% in Rwanda. Despite the increase in the Rwanda population to 13,246,394 as of August 2022 according to General Population Census indicates that Rwanda’s prevalence rate stayed stable at 3%.
For instance according to data from AIDs Research & Therapy, Kenya has made laudable progress in the HIV response as shown by the sustained decline in HIV prevalence among adults (15–49 years) in the general population, from a high of 10% in the mid-1990s to 4.5% in 2020.
According to the Uganda Ministry of Health estimates 2020, the HIV prevalence among adults (15-49 years) in Uganda is 5.4%. The prevalence is higher among females. There has been a drastic reduction in the number of new HIV infections between 2010 and 2020. The map shows HIV prevalence across the districts.
And for Adult HIV prevalence in Tanzania is estimated at 4.5 percent (UNAIDS 2021), with regional HIV prevalence ranging from 0.5 percent (Zanzibar) to 11.4 percent (Njombe).
Rwanda’s fight against HIV/ Aids statistics
Since 2005, HIV prevalence in Rwanda has remained stable at 3%, new HIV infections were reduced from 27/10,000 to 8/10,000. Whereas HIV services are available at all public health facilities in Rwanda and Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) is provided for free of charge for all.
