Inshuti Mu Buzima history

2004 – The government of Rwanda invites PIH to reinforce the national HIV prevention and treatment program in rural areas where it had been lagging. The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) also urges PIH to join in a drive to scale up HIV care in rural Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa.

	Rwinkwavu Hospital ward before reconstruction
	Rwinkwavu Hospital ward after reconstruction

2005 – In January, PIH signs a Memorandum of Understanding with CHAI to initiate a project to scale up HIV care and treatment in Rwanda, working in collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of Health and the Treatment and Research for AIDS Center (TRAC). After several trips to investigate conditions and consult with the Rwandan government, PIH agrees to work in two health districts in southeastern Rwanda, the poorest part of the country with a population of almost 500,000 people and not a single doctor. During the spring, a Rwandan partner organization is formed under the name Inshuti Mu Buzima (Partners In Health in Kinyarwanda), the derelict hospital in Rwinkwavu is reconstructed and reequipped, and extensive training is conducted for clinical staff and community health workers. IMB begins offering HIV testing within a matter of weeks and enrolls its first patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) starting in June 2005. By the end of the year, more than 17,000 people have been tested and almost 700 have started ART. More than 1,000 patients visit IMB clinics each month, almost 5,000 women have received prenatal counseling, and IMB is distributing 700 food packets per month to HIV and tuberculosis patients and their families.