HIV/AIDS Prevention Support and Care
Under its Second Medium Term Plan (1993-1997), the Government of Rwanda made HIV/AIDS prevention a priority in all of its economic and public investment programs.  It also seeks to minimize the socio-economic impact of AIDS on affected individuals and families.  In an effort to develop effective health communication strategies among Rwandan health care workers and their clients, the Government has asked JHU/PCS to assist with the following activities:

Programme National de Lutte Contre le SIDA (PNLS)

• Review of the National Strategic Plan for IEC/CBC in STI/HIV/AIDS with respect to the multisectorial approach defined in the Rwanda National HIV/STD/AIDS Strategic Plan Framework for the MPIII Period 1998-2001
• Development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation tools for the IEC/CBC strategic plan
• Review of the mandate of the Rwanda Center for Health Communication to determine its capacity to meet the needs for HIV/AIDS material production
• Assessment of progress and discussion regarding the development of a national IEC/Health strategy for Rwanda.

The Rwanda Center for Health Communication (RCHC)

• Development of a material resource center (library)
• Training of staff in resource center management
• Training in SCOPE interactive IEC planning software

Health Education Division of the Ministry of Health (MoH)

• Assessment of the MoH's Health Education Division guidance for the development of IEC/CBC in the health sector
• Review of next steps for the finalization of the working document of the National IEC/health strategy that was prepared during a November 1998 workshop.

To date, the JHU/PCS team has developed the Rwanda HIV/AIDS Communication Workplan for 2000-2001.   The team also worked to develop an HIV/AIDS prevention workplan that addresses specific population segments including youth, barbers, urban taxi drivers, at-risk children, people living with HIV/AIDS and women.  It is designed to de-stigmatize HIV/AIDS, to generate demand for health and social services and to change behaviors related to STI/HIV and build service capacity in project areas.

AED provided technical assistance for the development and implementation of a 10-day health communication training course for approximately 30 professionals representing various Ministries and NGOs in the health sector.  AED also helped to organize Rwanda’s first conference for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs), which took place in May 2000 and brought together more than 100 PLWAs, donors and AIDS service organizations.
  In late Fall 2000, AED helped in the organization of Rwanda's very first AIDS Quilt . The Quilt made its debut on December 1, 2000, World AIDS Day.
 

Gacaca Project
In 2000 JHU/PCS assumed the management of the USAID Gacaca demoncracy and governance project.  This project aims to promote reconciliation and justice after the 1994 genocide, which resulted in approximately 800,000 deaths.  “Gacaca” is a traditional Rwandan system of  participatory justice, which is being adapted to try more than 125,000 suspected genocide criminals who have been in pre-trial detention since their arrest in 1994.  The Gacaca system involves the popular election of community tribunals and subsequent community-based trials.

JHU/PCS is working together with the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) to raise awareness about the Gacaca process and the need for justice and reconciliation among prisoners and the general population.  IEC activities include audience research, radio spots, radio talk shows, print materials, billboards, a Gacaca journal and community-based sensitization activities.  JHU/PCS is also playing a crucial role in facilitating collaboration between the Ministry of Justice and different interest groups involved in the Gacaca process.