IntraHealth will document the process and outcomes of integrating family planning into its Rwandan HIV/AIDS programs, thanks to a grant from the Tides Foundation. The grant—part of a multi-country Tides Africa Fund initiative jointly funded by Tides and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation—will help IntraHealth ensure that clients entering Rwanda’s health care system for HIV services also receive the family planning and reproductive health services they need.

IntraHealth has worked with the Rwandan government to improve family planning services since the late 1980s, and saw married women’s contraceptive use rise from 10% in 2005 to 27% in 2008. The Rwandan government sees family planning as essential to poverty reduction and overall development as well as improved health.  “Rwanda’s formidable results in the health sector, and the dramatic improvement in key areas such as family planning and maternal and child health, are widely attributed to the strong leadership of the Minister of Health,” said Pape Gaye, IntraHealth’s CEO and president. “IntraHealth is grateful for this new award and the opportunity it provides us to continue our strong collaboration with the government.”

More data on the rise of contraception use are included in the report, Family Planning in Rwanda: How a Taboo Topic Became Priority Number One. IntraHealth is also working to strengthen Rwanda’s health workforce and systems and expand decentralized health care, including community-based HIV and malaria services.