Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 7/23/2003

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U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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CONTENT:

1 - RWANDA: Kigali gets US $2.8 million for HIV/AIDS control

2 - RWANDA: UN special envoy promises affordable HIV/AIDS drugs

1 - RWANDA: Kigali gets US $2.8 million for HIV/AIDS control

NAIROBI, 23 July (PLUSNEWS) - The African Development Bank (ADB) has

approved a US $2.8 million grant to finance Rwanda's national HIV/AIDS

control plan, the bank reported on Tuesday.

The grant is expected to enhance the country's institutional capacities to

coordinate and implement its 2002-2006 multisectoral plan, comprising the

National HIV/ADS Control Commission, national sectoral committees, NGOs,

community associations and religious organisations, the bank reported from

its headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia.

It is expected to boost the government's efforts to improve the health of

its people and to slow down the spread of HIV/AIDS. The bank said the

grant would be used for technical aid, training, impact studies, provision

of equipment and logistics.

The bank quoted data published in a recent world report on HIV/AIDS

(UNAIDS, June 2002), which indicated that at least 500,00 Rwandans live

with HIV/AIDS, 430,000 of them aged between 15 and 49. Of the total

figure, 250,00 are women.

The National Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Control Plan organises the fight

according to a multisectoral, decentralised, multidisciplinary and

community approach.

[ENDS]

2 - RWANDA: UN special envoy promises affordable HIV/AIDS drugs

KIGALI , 23 July (PLUSNEWS) - UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa,

, said on Wednesday that Rwandans living with HIV/AIDS would

" in the near " future have access to more affordable antiretroviral drugs.

" There's very intense discussion in Rwanda on having antiretroviral drugs

available for treatment and the UN family is ready to help, " said

after meeting Rwandan President Kagame in the capital, Kigali.

He said that Rwanda would soon be receiving money from the World Bank, the

global HIV/AIDS fund, and the Clinton Foundation, which he hoped would

make antiretroviral drugs affordable in the coming years.

" Drugs should be availed at a cheap cost, meaning that they have to

subsidised for the public, " said. " I am quite certain that this will

succeed if the Clinton money comes and the global funds are made

available. "

In Rwanda, an estimated 500,000 people are infected with HIV/AIDS, with an

estimated annual rate of infection of 5 percent to 10 percent. The Rwandan

government has managed to slash prices for antiretroviral drugs from US

$300 per month in 2000 to $100 per month at present.

said the Rwandan government had managed to create public awareness

about the HIV/AIDS pandemic and cut down the rate of infection in the

country.

" There's progress on the decision to roll out voluntary testing and

counselling, progress on use of drugs to prevent transmission from mother

to child and treating mothers who are infected, " he said.

" I go away with a great deal of hope because this is a country that has

been through so much and is making a recovery in the most difficult

circumstances, " added.

[ENDS]

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