WE-ACTx For Hope

www.we-actx.org/

Women’s Equity in Access to Care and Treatment for HIV (WE-ACTx) is an international community-based HIV/AIDS initiative operating in Kigali, Rwanda.  As a result of the 1994 genocide, over 250,000 Rwandan women experienced rape, torture and violence, many contracting HIV as a result.  While incarcerated perpetrators of these crimes who were HIV-positive received antiretroviral therapy (ART) in prison, the women they had infected were dying from AIDS due to lack of care.¹  WE-ACTx was started in 2004 in collaboration with 5 Rwandan genocide survivor associations and American physicians as a response to this disparity.  WE-ACTx clinics now serve over 2,250 patients at two sites:  Kigali and Nyagcyonga.  The clinics provide community-based primary care to HIV-positive patients free of charge in addition to confidential HIV testing, nutritional support, and prevention of mother to child transmission.  Aiming for an integrated, holistic approach, the clinics also offer psychosocial services such as individual counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and specialized support groups for teens, young mothers, survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and men living with HIV.  Other WE-ACTx initiatives include income generating cooperatives, Sunday youth programs, an annual youth summer camp and yoga classes.  While WE-ACTx provides care to everyone equally, a primary focus is providing for women and children’s health since they are the most vulnerable of the population.¹  Overall, WE-ACTx clinics and associated services aim to offer high-quality clinical care, psychosocial support, poverty mitigation, capacity building and self-advocacy to help HIV affected families achieve better health and possibilities for their future.  However, despite the plethora of services offered, WE-ACTx is committed to determining their success rate in terms of viral suppression and poverty alleviation.  This means that they need to continually work to discover trends within those individuals to whom they are providing care care as to better address the challenges related to their specific population.  This mission is synonymous with Rush Medical College's commitment to service and its desire to evaluate community needs before addressing them.

Read a brief biopic of about WE-ACTx here.

References

1.    Cohen, M., d’Adesky, A. and Anatos, K. (2005). Women in Rwanda: Another World is Possible.  Journal of the American Medical Association, 294(5), 613-615.