Condoms which used to be free and distributed to all public venues have now disappeared. You would be very lucky to find a condom in a shop.
The youths known to be sexually active, it is difficult to process the high levels of unprotected sex amongst them. It could be a national disaster waiting to explode.
Habimana John operating a retail shop in Kabagali Cell, Kacyiru district in the capital Kigali told Taarifa Investigative Desk that it is very rare for someone to come asking for condoms.
“People no longer ask for or buy condoms like before. They are expensive and scarce to find,” he said.
“Check around those shops; you won’t find locally made condoms. Even those who have them have increased the price,” he said.
According to Habimana, a packet of three condoms that previously cost Rwf300 rose to Rwf500. Imported brands such as Life Guard costs between Rwf1,000 and Rwf1,500.
He said the combination of limited supply and changing perceptions about HIV prevention could leave low-income people particularly vulnerable.
“I am very sure even the 6-month preventive jab is not available to everyone. People have resorted to engaging in unsafe sex, and it is really bad for poor people, especially here in Kabagali,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kazungu (requested to omit second name) is a mason in Kabagali, he told Taarifa that availability of one HIV prevention method does not necessarily eliminate the need for other prevention measures.
He was responding to the widely advertised 6-month jab for preventing transmission.
“Nothing can prove to you that the one you’re going to sleep with has received the injection.Nowadays many are embracing unprotected sex,” he said.
A nurse experienced in HIV care prefering anonymity told Taarifa that there is shortage of condoms in some health facilities.
“It is true, traders don’t have them. I mean, if the hospitals can’t have them, now you can imagine the traders,” the nurse said.
According to the health worker, condoms were previously distributed to patients through health facilities, with some organisations playing an important role in supplying them.
The nurse said those supplies have been affected since funding reductions began.
“Patients who would receive them for free at hospitals no longer have them because organisations that used to supply them stopped when the funding stopped,” the nurse said.
However, this nurse rejected claims that the six-month prevention injection was necessarily responsible for lack of condoms.
“I don’t think the introduction of the six-month protection injection is the cause, because most hospitals don’t have it yet. At least where I work, we haven’t received it,” the nurse said.
Health facilities continues to have antiretroviral medicines, including supplies covering several months, but not the injectable prevention option.
Funding Drying up
For years, Rwanda’s fight against HIV has relied on a combination of government commitment and support from international donors.
However, as external funding comes under pressure, a less visible part of the country’s HIV response is beginning to feel the strain: prevention.
The impact is increasingly being noticed not only in health facilities but also in communities where condoms and other prevention supplies are becoming harder to find.
The concern comes at a time when Rwanda has made significant progress in controlling the HIV epidemic, supported by programmes financed largely through international partners.
According to UNAIDS, in the 2023–2024 financial year, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) accounted for 37.7% of Rwanda’s total HIV expenditure, while the Global Fund contributed 50.8%.
The heavy reliance on external financing has raised questions about how Rwanda will maintain its gains if donor support continues to decline.
A model study on Rwanda’s HIV response estimated that eliminating PEPFAR funding could create a funding gap of about U$60 million and put progress in HIV epidemic control at risk if the government were unable to fully replace the lost resources.
The concern is part of a wider global disruption to HIV programmes following changes in US foreign assistance.
Washington froze foreign assistance in January 2025, although a subsequent waiver allowed certain life-saving HIV treatment and prevention services to continue.
