WE-ACTx: Fighting HIV/AIDS in Rwanda
WE-ACTx: Fighting HIV/AIDS in Rwanda
September 12, 2007
Through its support of Women’s Equity in Access to Care and Treatment (WE-ACTx), American Jewish World Service has been able to play a role in funding peace-building and HIV prevention and care efforts in Rwanda. WE-ACTx acts as a bridge between grassroots organizations on the ground, the Rwandan government AIDS treatment program, and champions the rights of the women and girls they serve.
Rwanda is a country in the process of an uphill struggle for recovery and rehabilitation. During the 100-day genocide in 1994 when 800,000 people were massacred, the perpetrators of the genocide also raped an estimated 250,000 Rwandan women. HIV infection was planned by the perpetrators and deliberately used as a genocidal tool termed “slow poison.”
More than 125,000 women are estimated to have become HIV-positive as a result of exposure during these rapes, an infection rate of more than 50 percent. By the end of 2002, 17 percent – or nearly 24,000 of the women still surviving with HIV – were estimated to be symptomatic and in need of antiretroviral therapy. As a matter of justice, and to preserve life and regain individual well-being, these women needed immediate access to antiretroviral drugs.
WE-ACTx was launched in the United States in the fall of 2003 by physicians, advocates and researchers with extensive frontline experience in caring and advocating for HIV-infected women. Almost immediately, WE-ACTx began to focus international attention, resources and advocacy on the current gender gap in HIV care and treatment at the grassroots level in Rwanda.
A key goal of the organization was to develop initiatives to increase access to care for HIV-infected women who had survived genocidal conflicts worldwide, and to assess the need and feasibility of research in strategies to optimize their medical care.
The organization began its activities in the Kigali region of Rwanda following urgent requests for help by Association des Veuves du Genocide Aghozo, an organization serving widows of the genocide. During their first exploratory visit, four other partner associations also requested assistance: Society of Women with AIDS in Africa, an HIV-positive women’s network; Icyuzuzu, a child welfare organization; Urunana, an organization that works to promote the reconstruction of families and villages; and Rwandan Women’s Network, a network for women and orphans affected by the genocide and HIV/AIDS. WE-ACTx facilitated a collective meeting of these non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the AIDS leaders in the Rwandan government who proved their deep commitment to eradicating this epidemic.
In 2004 AJWS provided WE-ACTx with a grant to fund three months of its operating budget for clinical services. Recently, AJWS renewed its support for WE-ACTx; this year’s grant focuses on building the clinical infrastructure and facilitating the costs of the partnership between WE-ACTx and the Rwandan Women’s network.
While this represents a somewhat different model from AJWS’ general approach to grantmaking, AJWS has always strenuously advocated for access to antiretroviral treatment for poor communities around the world. AJWS stands firm as one of the few organizations speaking out about the critical importance of relying on the expertise and community mobilization capacity of grassroots organizations in order to make any treatment effort safe, effective and sustainable.
The Rwandan government’s Treatment and Research in AIDS Center, which coordinates all HIV care and treatment services in the country, has exhibited their widespread approval of WE-ACTx’s program, viewing it as a “public-private” initiative based in the aforementioned NGOs, and as an extension of the government’s decentralized national AIDS plan.
This plan aims to develop facilitated, continuous access to voluntary counseling and testing for HIV infection for survivors of genocidal rape and all other Rwandan women. If they are HIV-positive it seeks to provide them with comprehensive HIV primary care, including antiretroviral treatment and support services. On the pioneering path, it aims to develop structured research to assess the effectiveness and the major toxicities of antiretroviral therapy in Rwandan women, and the impact of a healthcare delivery model based within the existing infrastructure of five women’s NGOs.
With the Rwandan government providing drugs, and grassroots NGOs providing human resources and long-term support, AJWS is proud to support WE-ACTx, the group that connects those who are committed to working together for the future of Rwanda.
