Zonta International
PREVENTION OF
MOTHER-TO-CHILD
TRANSMISSION OF HIV
and
GENDER-BASED
VIOLENCE
In Rwanda
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• In 1994, Rwanda’s population of
7 million was composed of three
ethnic groups, Hutu (85%), Tutsi
(14%) and Twa (1%).
• In the early 1990s, Hutu
extremists within Rwanda’s
political elite blamed the entire
Tutsi minority population for the
country’s increasing social,
economic and political
problems.
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• In 1994, the Rwandan genocide exploded after the plane which carried
President Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down.
• Under the cover of war, Hutu extremists launched the Rwandan genocide
targeting the extinction of the Tutsi people.
• The Hutu government intended to unite the Hutu people after brutalizing close
to a million people.
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The civil war and genocidal
government ended when
the Tutsi rebel group, the
RFP, defeated the Hutu
regime and President Paul
Kagame took control
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16 Years After the Genocide Rwanda still had
Critical Issues Impeding it’s Development
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Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS
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Gender-Based Violence
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After the genocide and war, Rwanda was largely a country of
vulnerable women and children.
Rwanda has one of the world’s highest concentration of orphans
due to the genocide and deaths of HIV-positive women.
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Critical Issues
• Treating HIV positive women
• Preventing transmission of the
virus to their offspring
• Giving women healthcare and
reproductive health services in
a war torn country with a
broken healthcare system
• Preventing and responding to
the violence stemming from the
brutalization of the society
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• The consequence of domestic
and gender-based violence can
span generations.
• The effects of violent behavior
stay with children long after
childhood.
• Insufficient medical, psychosocial
and legal care creates lifelong
physical and mental trauma for
survivors.
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In response to these urgent needs
of the mothers and children of Rwanda
ZONTA INTERNATIONAL
in cooperation with the
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND
will provide $500,000 to
PREVENT
MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV
and
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
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Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS
• Responding to the needs
of HIV positive women
• Prevention of
transmitting the virus to
their offspring during
pregnancy, childbirth
and breastfeeding
• Providing access to
health care and
reproductive health
services to women
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Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS Support
• Rwanda has achieved progress in preventing the
mother-to-child transmission of the virus, but the
rate of infection is still high.
• Recently improved anti-retroviral programs and
early infant diagnosis should lower the infection
rate.
• Following those improved virus and detection
initiatives, the UNICEF/Zonta program will fund
the first national-level evaluation of the
effectiveness of the mother-to-child transmission
of HIV/AIDS at six weeks after a mother gives
birth.
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Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS Support
Rwanda is working towards universal access to HIV testing and care for
pregnant women and children by 2010.
The UNICEF/Zonta program will develop a model of Rwanda’s successful
program to use at the district level including:
•Anti-retroviral access
•Rehabilitation access
•Adequate facilities
•Necessary equipment
•A system to assess trends in new infections
•Community support
•Adequate transportation for laboratory samples
•Laboratory training
•Technical and financial support the existing prevention of mother-to-child transmission
of HIV/AIDS sites in the districts of Rwanda
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Gender-Based Violence
• Preventing and responding to
the violence as a result of the
brutalization of society during
the genocide
• Enforcing and strengthening
control over the transmission of
HIV linked to domestic and
gender-based violence
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Gender-Based Violence Support
• Increase access for cases of
gender-based violence victims
seeking services through
increased knowledge and better
quality of services to survivors
of violence.
• Improve resilience among
survivors and families and
decrease the incidence of acute
traumatic stress disorders in
survivors.
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One Stop Centers
The project will establish
nationwide support centers for
holistic care and support to
survivors of domestic and genderbased violence in all five
provinces in Rwanda.
These centers will offer referral,
training for those who will
support survivors, and improve
the quality of service to survivors.
The program will also support the
newly established pilot center at
Kacyiru Hospital in Kigali and the
center in Rusizi District.
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The project will use three approaches:
• The Holistic Approach
• The Multidisciplinary Approach
• The Family and Community Based
Approach
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Holistic Care
Holistic care will be provided to address the, physical,
psychosocial and legal needs of victims/survivors.
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Multidisciplinary Approach
• The multidisciplinary approach
recognizes that a woman and a
child, particularly those in special
need of protection, need access to
an array of services due to
complex nature of their needs.
• Agencies and professionals must
work together to manage different
aspects of helping a woman and a
child within the context of their
family, community and society.
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Family and Community Based Approach
• The family and community based
approach recognizes that
families and communities are the
first line of response in dealing
with problems.
• This type of intervention should
strengthen the capabilities of
families and communities.
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The Women of Rwanda thank you
for your donations to this critical
program