Mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Rwanda has remained below 2 percent over the past decade, rising slightly to 1.1 percent from 0.9 percent in the previous year, according to the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) HIV, STIs, and Viral Hepatitis Annual Report 2024/2025. ALSO READ: Newborns to get Hepatitis B vaccine During the year, 364,665 pregnant women attended their first antenatal care visit, with 358,839 tested for HIV. Of these, 1,233 were newly diagnosed and started on treatment, while 99.9 percent of pregnant women living with HIV were on treatment However, 243 women were diagnosed only at labour after missing earlier testing. Male partner testing reached 190,904, with 435 testing positive, including cases where one partner tested negative. HIV prevalence among pregnant women declined from 2.08 percent in 2020 to 1.48 percent in 2025. Rwanda uses a “triple elimination” programme for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B in pregnancy, with testing during antenatal care, treatment for those who test positive, and follow-up of exposed infants after birth. The report shows that in the same period, 340,024 pregnant women were tested for syphilis and 316,334 for hepatitis B, with 3,533 and 146 receiving treatment, respectively. Follow-up of 4,026 HIV-exposed infants over 24 months shows transmission at 0.1 percent at the final stage. Challenges include shortages of infant HIV test kits, home deliveries among women living with HIV, limited involvement of private health facilities, and gaps in hepatitis B management.
