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ICAP Sites Showcased in Africa Tour by United States Health and Human Services Secretary
As part of a four-country African tour to visit programs funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), United States Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and a delegation of senior U.S. health officials visited three of the Mailman School's International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) supported HIV/AIDS sites in Rwanda and Mozambique.
At Rubengera Health Center in Rwanda's Central Province, Secretary Leavitt learned from patients how they had benefited from the initiation of HIV/AIDS services at the facility. Members of associations of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) also described their experiences as peer educators who work in their communities to promote HIV counseling and testing and treatment adherence.
Secretary Leavitt's visit to Rubengera Health Center also included a tour of the facility's prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) HIV unit, where he observed and later praised the full integration of PMTCT, antenatal, family plannin, and care and treatment services. An important focus of ICAP's work in Africa is promoting the integration of HIV/AIDS services with other healthcare services. The Secretary capped off his visit to the Rwandan site with a donation of 50 goats to two associations of PLWHA.
In Mozambique, Secretary Leavitt visited Jose Macamo Health Center in Maputo, another ICAP-supported site, where he learned from staff and patients about PMTCT services and an innovative patient-support program called PositHIVe Teas. A unique feature of the program is the use of art to provide HIV-positive children and adults with an outlet for expressing their feelings. Secretary Leavitt concluded his visit at the health center's treatment area where he undertook an HIV rapid test. Later, he visited another ICAP-supported site in Quelimane, Zambezia, in the northern part of the country.
"The ICAP teams in Rwanda and Mozambique, as well as site teams, were delighted to showcase their hard work and their remarkable achievements," said ICAP Director Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, professor of clinical Epidemiology and Medicine. "Building on the resilience and courage of people living with HIV will ensure that these programs endure and continue to thrive."
In Rwanda, ICAP support has enabled enrollment of more than 26,000 patients in care and 13,000 have started treatment. In Mozambique, more than 85,000 patients have been enrolled in care and 26,000 have started treatment. In addition, nearly 20,000 pregnant women in Rwanda and Mozambique have received HIV counseling and testing.
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