Empowering 500 Rwandan women living with HIV/AIDS

The outbreak of COVID-19 virus has had serious devastating effects to our beneficiaries who have previous issues of poor health and face stigma and discrimination.

This has also adversely affected them because of lack of food and hence they are not able to take their antiretroviral medications properly.

Human Rights First Rwanda Association through partners and donors embarked on a Humanitarian drive of mobilizing food stuff and other sanitary materials like soaps and face masks to assist them to cope up with the epidemic.

We also undertook a campaign to urge government that the lockdown would be most effective if carried out not only in accordance with the law, but also hand-in-hand with the fulfillment of the government’s obligation to provide basic goods and services to vulnerable community members. Services should be available to all who are in need, including those living in areas under movement restrictions or under quarantine, those infected with Covid-19, and marginalized groups such as Women with HIV/AIDS and people with disabilities.

We continue to mobilize funds to assist our beneficiaries through your support this initiative will continue to be rolled out.

The COVID-19 lockdowns and curfews that has been imposed by the Rwandan government for the last five months has been making it difficult for vulnerable and marginalized people to access critical health services, particularly in remote rural communities. The lockdown and restrictions on transport has been a barrier to accessing health services for mothers and pregnant women living with HIV, putting them and their babies at risk.

Human Rights first Rwanda Association and its partners have been doing a lot of advocacy campaigns targeted to policy makers and Ministry of Health to ensure that mothers who are HIV positive get at least 6 months access to antiretroviral medication because If access to medicine is interrupted, the mother risks passing the virus to her baby, and risks developing health issues herself as a result of the interruption in treatment.

Also as part of the response to COVID-19 pandemic, Human Rights First Rwanda Association and its partners are  building the capacity of health centres to deliver antiretroviral treatment and health services at home.

However we still have challenges in respect to providing food supplements   for the mothers and children we are hoping well-wishers could come on board and support this initiative.

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