EASTERN PROVINCE

RWAMAGANA—Nurses from hospitals and health centers across the east are attending one-week training on HIV counseling and testing at AVEGA center.

The training was organized by the Ministry Of Health geared towards equipping nurses with knowledge of Voluntary Counseling and Testing and how to prevent mother to child transmission of the virus, said Elysèe Dieudonné Furaha, one of the organizers.

During the training, participants would be taught proper ways of handling patients, according to Janvier Hitimana, one of the trainers hailing from Bugesera.

He said other lessons would include ways of attending to people seeking HIV services including counseling before testing.

"For those who test positive we advise them to go for Ant-retroviral drugs while those who test negative are advised to protect their lives,” Hitimana said of the services rendered to people seeking HIV/Aids services.

According to Furaha, the training is a routine program by the Ministry of Health organized nationally every semester on VCT, sponsored by Global Fund-MAP.

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