Rwanda is one of the sub-Saharan African nations most affected by the dreaded HIV/AIDS epidemic that is killing millions of African citizens. Of the eight million people in Rwanda, approximately 400,000 are affected with the virus. President Paul Kagame has made strides since his election in 2000 to helping those within his nation who have AIDS as well as working to prevent HIV infections. Kagame has been lauded by many in the international community for the strides he is taking in trying to combat this world-wide epidemic.

Many of the people in Rwanda who are infected with HIV were the victims of systematic rape during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. During this time, over 800,000 Rwandans were murdered. Many women and girls were raped by the Hutu military in an effort to further expand the Hutu race and exterminate the Tutsis. At the time of the civil war and genocide, AIDS was already a growing problem in Rwanda. The systematic rape of female Tutsis caused the disease to spread. Not only did many women and girls who were raped contract HIV, but they also passed it on to their offspring.

Early in his presidency, Kagame recognized the need for a campaign against HIV and AIDS. Kagame led the revolt against the brutal regime that committed the atrocities during the Rwandan Genocide that not only caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands, but infected a good portion of the population with HIV.

One of the first steps Kagame instituted in the Rwandan fight against AIDS was to take steps in preventing the transmission from mother to child. Women who gave birth were tested for the virus so they could be made aware not to spread it to their offspring. One way that HIV is transmitted is through breast milk. Prior to testing, many women would unknowingly infect their children with the virus simply by feeding them. The campaign of testing mothers for the virus has potentially saved the lives of thousands of children in Rwanda.

Anti-AIDS clubs were formed in all of the schools in Rwanda. Students are taught about the virus, how it is spread and about HIV prevention at an early age. While many African nations, despite the growing menace, still refuse to address this subject, Rwanda is taking steps to educate the public about the truth of AIDS and teach the citizens practices of how to avoid this potentially deadly disease.

Approximately 60 percent of the AIDS cases in the world are concentrated on the continent of Africa. The sub-Saharan countries, such as Rwanda, harbor the most of the HIV cases in Africa. The disease is also highly concentrated in Southern Africa where, in some localities, the rate of the disease is over 30 percent. AIDS in Africa has drawn much media attention and the international community continues to work to promote education and relief for the African nations affected by this scourge.

Still, many African nations are resistant to educating the public about AIDS. In many countries, condoms are still considered taboo and some leaders have even disputed the medical link between HIV and AIDS. The leaders of the nations who have chosen to address the problem and seek solutions are, not surprisingly, finding the greatest success at reducing the number of new HIV cases within their nations. Rwanda is one of these nations that are striving to implement education and change to combat this epidemic that has caused the deaths of millions of African citizens.

Kagame believes that AIDS can be tamed and even defeated through education and the use of anti-retroviral drugs that have been found to keep the illness at bay. Under the leadership of Paul Kagame, the Rwandan government has purchased drugs from the West that has been made available to those in his nation with HIV which can potentially help treat these individuals.

The United States recently implemented a program designed to help Rwanda combat the AIDS epidemic. Rwanda received over 28 million dollars in 2004 to help finance treatment and prevention programs in the nation. Rwanda is one of 15 countries under the Emergency Plan created by American President George W. Bush that received financial and medical aid to combat AIDS. Rwandan President Paul Kagame has put the money to good use and developed a national program to combat the disease within Rwanda. The efforts of Kagame and the assistance of the worldwide community have proven successful in Rwanda. The country has begun to see a decline in the number of HIV cases and treatment of individuals with HIV has greatly decreased the death toll of this disease.

Through a combined effort of awareness, education and treatment by Rwanda’s leaders who are working with the international community, HIV is being better controlled in this African nation. President Kagame continues today to work towards his goal of eliminating HIV/AIDS as a threat to the people of Rwanda.