Global Fund Grants Rwanda $8.4 Million Over Two Years for HIV/AIDS Testing, Training

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has signed an agreement with Rwanda to provide $8.4 million over two years to fund voluntary HIV/AIDS counseling and testing and training for health care workers, according to a Global Fund release. Nearly 75% of Rwanda's health care workers are expected to complete the training, and the initiative will make testing and counseling available at more than one-third of the country's health care facilities, with 117 sites selected in each of the country's 39 health districts. The grant also will help improve access to treatment for opportunistic infections, such as tuberculosis, for people who are HIV-positive and make it easier for the country's 500,000 HIV-positive adults and children to obtain antiretroviral drugs. Rwanda's Ministry of Health will implement the program in partnership with the National University, the Treatment and Research AIDS Center, the National Association for Supporting People Living with AIDS and the Rwanda National Youth Council (Global Fund release, 4/9).