Press Release

U.S. Health and Human Service Secretary Mike Leavitt's visit to Rwanda

August 28—U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and a group of senior U.S. Government health officials completed their ten-day, four-country trip to Africa with an August 26-28 visit to Rwanda. The purpose of their stop was to review progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria through President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and Malaria Initiative (PMI).

Secretary Leavitt began his visit at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where he participated in a wreath-laying ceremony to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the genocide and toured the museum’s permanent exhibitions.

During the course of his stay, Secretary Leavitt met senior Rwandan officials including Prime Minster Bernard Makuza, Minister of Education Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, and Minister of State for HIV/AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases, Dr. Innocent Nyaruhirira. He also had the opportunity to visit a number of community projects supported by PEPFAR and PMI, and to speak with ordinary Rwandans who are benefiting from the programs.

In Gasabo District, Secretary Leavitt reviewed a program that utilizes volunteer community-based health workers to treat malaria among children six months to five years old. In Kicukiro, the Secretary visited a mobile counseling and testing site that is part of the PEPFAR-supported Healthy Schools Initiative. The Secretary observed how Rwandan secondary school children are counseled about HIV/AIDS, spoke with members of the school’s Anti-AIDS club, and, along with Minister Nyaruhirira, was tested for HIV/AIDS. The Secretary also spoke to an audience of 200 students and faculty at the Kigali Health Institute, which is the primary training facility for secondary health care providers in Rwanda. Secretary Leavitt concluded his trip to Rwanda with a visit to Rubengera Health Center in Rwanda’s Western Province, where he had an opportunity to speak with representatives of two associations of People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) to better understand the challenges they face and to learn how the associations help economically vulnerable, HIV-infected women earn incomes and strengthen their will to lead positive, productive lives. As a sign of his respect for their dedicated efforts, Secretary Leavitt donated 50 goats to the associations. The goats will provide an important source of nutrition and sustained income to the associations' members.

Secretary Leavitt was accompanied by USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health Kent Hill, U.S. Malaria Coordinator Admiral Timothy Ziemer, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Julie Gerberding, and Roger Glass, Director of the Fogerty International Center at the National Institutes of Health.

In 2007 Rwanda is receiving $103 million in assistance through PEPFAR and $20 million through PMI. Further information about these programs is available at www.pepfar.gov/ and www.fightingmalaria.gov.