Many patients have not yet seen the fruits of the government's efforts. Accessing antiretrovirals remains a challenge for many Rwandans like MariaEsperanza from Kibuye, in the western part of Rwanda.

Maria, a widow of the country's genocide, has been infected with HIV since 1994. Because her condition has considerably weakened, she has had to stop her livelihood of cultivating and selling beans and potatoes. In December 2003 she traveled 150 kilometers to the capital Kigali to access ARV therapy.