The Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) is in discussions with the government’s partners in the fight against the HIV virus to introduce a method where people living with the virus would receive a single injection every six months, replacing the current daily pills.
Dr. Ikuzo Basil, the Director of the HIV/AIDS and STIs Division at RBC, told RBA (Rwanda Broadcasting Agency) that they are seeking partners to help them provide the injectable anti-retroviral medicine to all patients. He noted that they have been providing a two-month injectable treatment in some locations for a year, and it has been successful.
He said, “We previously used pill medication where a patient at high risk of contracting AIDS would take one pill daily. However, for the past year, we introduced a new injectable medicine where, instead of the patient taking daily pills, they receive an injection once every two months.”
“Currently, we are holding discussions with partners and donors in the fight against the HIV virus to bring another new injectable medicine to the country that a person can take once every six months. We are exploring ways to bring it in as well to continue helping Rwandans prevent the HIV virus.”
Dr. Ikuzo added that the activities to prevent HIV transmission in Rwanda are progressing well, but there remains a problem among the youth.
He stated, “The number of people contracting the HIV virus has visibly decreased over the last 10 years, but the figures we have show that new infections are now concentrated among the youth.”
“The youth are not utilizing HIV prevention services, and those who have the virus are not adhering well to taking their medication. This is where we will focus significant efforts, because if the services are free, the remaining responsibility lies with the citizen.”
Rwanda has managed to achieve the ’95, 95, 95′ target set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the fight against AIDS.
This target means that 95% of people living with HIV in the country know their status, 95% of them are taking life-saving anti-retroviral therapy (ART), and 95% of those on ART have a suppressed viral load (HIV is not detectable in their blood).
The Rwandan Network of People Living with HIV (RRP+) is composed of 166,522 Rwandans organized into various associations that conduct awareness campaigns to fight AIDS and tuberculosis.
The leadership of this network indicates that the number of people living with HIV now includes those over 60, suggesting that providing free medication has been very beneficial. However, they emphasize that the problem is the new infections, where over 35% are among the youth who are not fully participating in prevention programs.
