UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

August 5, 2007

Rwanda's Rwinkwavu Health Center

Today, I wanted to talk about the Rwinkwavu Health Center located in Rwanda's East Province where UNICEF and other partners support the implementation of HIV and AIDS activities towards the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of the virus. The health center covers an area of 325,000 people and operates within 2 district hospitals and 4 primary health centers in the eastern province.

Rwinkwavu Health Center uses two main integrated strategies: pediatric HIV and AIDS care which is used as an entry point to reach out to the community at large and medical personnel and community health workers are also used to ensure the quality, access and utilization of health services.

The centre is expected to become a national training center for the care and treatment of HIV very soon. It provides child care and general curative in and out-patient services for children and their families in the catchment's areas. The centre also provides education assistance, advocacy on child rights and protection, the provision of clean water to health centers and schools; outreach community services based on primary health care as well as education and HIV prevention.
 
I went to the center early one morning and met with HIV positive mothers who were coming for counseling and treatment. I took this opportunity to provide counseling to these mothers and listen to their concerns and needs.  Approximately 50 new mothers come every Monday for Voluntary Counseling and Testing services.

In early July, I visited two kids who are on treatment at the center. Among them, a girl called Focine, who I have mentioned in previous blogs. Focine is 8 years old and HIV positive. Her mother is also HIV positive. She has one older brother who is 12 years old but he does not live with Focine, he stays with an aunt. Focine's mother does not know the serological status of her 12 year old son. These days, Focine and her mother are facing severe housing problems. Focine's mother is jobless and they recently had to move out of their small house into a small room because they could no longer afford the rent.

Focine has been on treatment since July 2006. In Rwanda, it is estimated that 27,000 children are HIV positive. Since I first met her last year at the clinic, I have followed Focine's progress through visits on a monthly basis. It is encouraging to see how this brave 8 year-old girl has been coping with her situation. Since she started her treatment, Focine has been pursuing her school regularly and has not encountered any problems. She has now passed her second year of primary education and is well on her way to finishing her last term which ends in October 2007.