RWANDA: Kigali seeks to integrate HIV/AIDS programmes in private, public sectors

Rwanda's HIV/AIDS Control Commission has embarked on a campaign to integrate HIV/AIDS control programmes in the private and public sectors.

"We hope to achieve a high level of involvement," Dr Agnes Binagwaho, the executive secretary of the National AIDS Control Commission, said on Thursday.

The campaign calls for meeting medical expenses for employees infected with the virus as well as promoting awareness within the two sectors.

Binagwaho told a two-day conference in the capital, Kigali, that the commission wanted the public and private firms to integrate HIV/AIDS-related programmes into the planning of their activities. The commission, she said, was also seeking strategies to fight HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

Rwanda has one of the highest HIV infection rates in central Africa, with 11.3 percent of its 8.1 million people infected. The most affected age bracket is the 15-35 year group.

Rwandan beer and soft drink company, BRALIRWA, is one of the few private companies that have a medical policy for employees infected with HIV/AIDS. Employees are provided with anti-retroviral drugs - a benefit which is also extended to close family members.

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