The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Rwanda

Rwanda is one of PEPFAR’s 15 focus countries. The U.S. Government has a strong partnership with the Government of Rwanda, which has shown remarkable leadership in their fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. PEPFAR support for Rwanda grew from $39.2 million in FY 2004 to $103 million in FY2007. In FY2008, PEPFAR plans to provide approximately $123 million.

Partnerships to Fight HIV/AIDS in Rwanda

The successes to date are based in the power of partnerships between our nations.

• In collaboration with the Government of Rwanda and the Global Fund, PEPFAR has been successful in reaching people with treatment and care services, with more than 44,000 men, women and children on treatment as of September 2007, up from 4,300 in 2004. Of particular note, treatment coverage supported by all sources has increased dramatically – from 4.4% in 2003 to 92% in 2007.

• Through prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs, PEPFAR has tested approximately 647,800 pregnant women for HIV, with 26,500 HIV-positive women having received antiretroviral prophylaxis to prevent transmission, averting an estimated 5,100 infant infections.

In addition, working in partnership with the Government and the people of Rwanda, PEPFAR has supported through September 30, 2007:

• Care for more than 102,700 people, including care for more than 35,000 orphans and vulnerable children;
• Nearly 1.3 million counseling and testing sessions; and

• Nearly 873,000 people reached by programs to prevent sexual transmission in 2007.
  • The U.S. Government has also supplied nearly 40 million condoms since 2004.

In Rwanda and around the world, defeating HIV/AIDS requires partnership among all sectors of society – government, civil society including faith- and community-based organizations, and the private sector. The American people are proud to be a strong partner in this fight.

[¹] UNAIDS, Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, 2006.

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