Today marks the World Aids Day, which provides the global community with the opportunity to reflect on the progress made in combating the epidemic as well as the challenges that still remain. World Aids Day 2014 offers an additional opportunity for exploring ways to harness more vigorously the power of social change to firmly place people at the centre of the fight and toclose the access gap. Ending the Aids epidemic by 2030 is possible, but only by closing the gap between people who have access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services and people who are being left behind. The 2014 World Aids day report shows that encouraging progress continues to be made: by the end of 2013, 35 million people were living with HIV, which though represents an increase over previous years, is due to more people receiving life-saving anti-retroviral therapy. New infections in 2013 were estimated at 2.1 million, which was 38% lower than in 2001. The number of Aids -related deaths also continues to decline, with 1.5 million people dying of Aids -related causes in 2013, down by 35% from the peak in 2005. There are an estimated 24.7 million people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 71% of the global total. There are also more women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa than HIV-positive men: women account for 58% of the total number of people living with HIV. There are 2.9 million children (aged 0–14); 2.9 million young people (aged 15–24) and more than 2.5 million people aged 50 years and older living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Rwanda continues to register further achievements in the fight against the epidemic; its overall prevalence rate stands at 3%, and has remained so since 2005. Notable progress has also been made towards achieving universal access to HIV treatment, prevention care and support. Based on current eligibility criteria, more than 94% of adults requiring ARVs have access to them. Rwanda has also seen a reduction by more than half in new infections. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services are available in over 90 per cent of health facilities and HIV testing among women has increased by almost a third since 2005. It has also carried out additional measures, such as male circumcisions to contain new infections. Nevertheless, certain important challenges persist. Among them, HIV prevalence is very high among key populations such the femalesex workers where the prevalence is estimated at 51% nationally and 56% in Kigali City. In addition, HIV incidence among adolescents has, in recent time, shown an increase, especially among young girls. This evidence calls for much more targeted programmes to reach such vulnerable populations. In Rwanda, this year’s WAD celebration focuses on the “Role of Media in early HIV treatment to reduce AIDS related morbidity and mortality”. This theme reflects the importance of media and communication in general to reach the global targets. The use of media has the potential to influence social norms that affect negatively HIV prevention and treatment strategies but also create a platform for dialogue at all levels. An effective way of spreading the knowledge of specific issues in today’s society is through the social media. In his 2014 WAD message, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says “I am pleased and proud to see that we are moving forward. We know that medical systems alone are not enough to provide robust health care. Social justice, the democratization of science, shared responsibility for financing, human rights and gender equity, and a people-centred approach to health are all lessons we have learned in the Aids response that are being applied across the board, including in our discussions on the post-2015 development agenda”. The 2014 World Aids day, says the Executive Director of UNAIDS, is time to redouble our efforts, to fast-track our actions and close the gap between people who have access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services and people who are being left behind. As the One UN family continues its work here in Rwanda, we would like to reiterate our commitment to supporting the on-going implementation of the National Strategic Plan for HIV 2013-2018 to allow the country to accelerate progress towards ending Aids by 2030. We would also like to extend our solidarity to all people who are living with HIV and Aids in Rwanda. We would like to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives due to Aids in Rwanda, commend the Ministry of Health, RBC and the tireless efforts of care givers and their contributions to the national HIV response. It is also another opportunity to pay tribute to H.E. President Paul Kagame and the First Lady, Mrs Jeannette Kagame, for their strong leadership and concerted efforts to contain and reverse the trend in the spread of HIV and Aids in Rwanda. The writer is the UN Resident Coordinator
