UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

August 1, 2007

The state of HIV and AIDS in Rwanda today

Today I thought I would share with you some of the updates about HIV and AIDS that I've been working with including the progress made in 2006 and how UNICEF is helping in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Rwanda is among ten countries in Africa most affected by the HIV epidemic. An estimated 250,000 adults and children were living with HIV in 2003. Approximately 27,000 children are living with HIV. Rwanda has a large number of orphans and it's no coincidence that there is such a large proportion of children-headed households. Children make up 50% of the population here. If no intervention is set up, about 23,000 children are at risk of infection every year during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding. More than 90% of HIV positive children are infected as a result of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV.

As you can probably see from these figures, AIDS is threatening to reverse years of progress in child survival here in Rwanda. Approximately 61 per cent of our population lives below the poverty line. Rwanda has some of the poorest social indicators in Africa.

The HIV prevalence in Rwanda is nationally 3.0 with distinctive variations by areas and sex, 2.2% in rural and 7.3 % in urban areas. The HIV and AIDS epidemic is exerting a disproportionate burden on women. There is a high prevalence of women belonging to the 15-49 age group (the prevalence is 3.6% compared with 2.3% in men in the same age group of 15-49 according to the Demographic Health Survey of 2005).

Pediatric care, support and treatment of HIV positive children:
Today, approximately 20% of health facilities offer pediatric treatment of HIV up from less than 10 % in 2004. Around one third of HIV positive children who are in need of ARV therapy are treated, up from less than 1% in 2004. 20% of districts hospitals are now equipped for early diagnosis of HIV among infants, easing the course of treatment for HIV positive young children.

There is still a lot to do, but with your support, we can reach all these children!  If infected children don't get the appropriate treatment, 80% of them don't celebrate their 5th birthday. With treatment, they respond and survive to adulthood.

Prevention of Mother to child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT): 
More than half (55%) of health facilities offer Prevention of Mother to child Transmission of HIV services--what we refer to as PMTCT services--integrated into antenatal care services. From 2001-2006, an average of 105,919 pregnant women were tested every year, 33,013 were tested HIV positive. Help us help these mothers and save the lives of many children. The survival of children relies on the survival of their mothers.

Family Package Programme, Kacyiru Health centre:
Back in February 2002, Rwanda's First Lady launched The Family Package Program at Kacyiru Health centre. The UNICEF-supported initiative has since then grown significantly. Today it is implemented in 8 health facilities. The program was developed to build on the mother to child transmission interventions by extending basic care and support for parents living with HIV and AIDS and for their children. Because the provision of the complete package is expensive, partnerships built around the programme proved critical to offer the whole range of services to HIV positive mothers, their male partners, their newborns and other affected family members. 

The program aims to improve the quality of life, promote family stability and participation and protect children who are infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS.

However, the adherence of mothers and the participation of men in PMTCT is weak. The involvement of local authorities, training of health workers, social mobilization and community participation have all been essential components of the program.

PMTCT is a family issue. The success of the PMTCT program depends on shared responsibility of couples, families and their community. Our family package offers an entry point for comprehensive care, treatment and support to HIV positive women and their families. However, the provision of the complete family package is expensive. That's where you can help! Your support will enable us to offer the complete package and scale it up across the country.