Rwanda: More Men Dying On Antiretroviral Treatment

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Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)

3 July 2008
Posted to the web 3 July 2008

Kigali

More women are taking antiretroviral medication in Rwanda but more men are dying during the treatment, TRAC Plus - the agency managing the ARV program says.

Men are testing for HIV infection late and by the time they are on ARVs, their sero-status is usually in advanced stages that they do live much shorter compared to women, said Dr. Jule Mugabo from TRAC Plus.

Among the 53.615 ARV recipients countrywide, there are more women. The death rate among men stands at 3% compared to just 1.9 percent in women, according to the 2007 TRAC Plus report on HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Treatment in Rwanda.

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"Part of the explanation could be that men are drinking alcohol and more often they are engaging in sex where they have multiple partners", Dr. Mugabo told the HIV/Aids research symposium in Kigali on Thursday.

Figures from TRAC Plus also indicate that enrollment into the ARV program is 'rapidly increasing' on average at about 1200 patients every month.

Last year, about 800.000 people were counseled and tested.

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