World Bank Provides $32 Million for HIV/AIDS Programs in Rwandan Province

The World Bank Multisector AIDS Project on Wednesday announced it will provide $32 million for HIV/AIDS programs in the northern Rwandan province of Ruhengeri, which has few programs to fight the disease compared with the rest of the country, Xinhuanet reports (Xinhuanet, 9/14). MAP representatives at a meeting this week urged officials from the province to encourage residents to get tested for HIV. Fred Manzi, the MAP representative in Ruhengeri, said the project also has funds available to support HIV/AIDS organizations and encouraged the creation of more organizations (Kalenzi, New Times, 9/14). Rwanda's HIV/AIDS epidemic was exacerbated by the 1994 genocide (Xinhuanet, 9/14). During the genocide, Hutu militia raped Tutsi women in a deliberate plan to use HIV/AIDS as a weapon (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 9/9).

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