Madame Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of the Republic of Rwanda

Madame Jeannette Kagame was born on August 10th, 1962 and has been the First Lady of Rwanda since April 2000. She returned to Rwanda in 1994 at the end of the war, to the insurmountable horrors of the genocide. Jeannette Kagame was confronted with enormous social challenges and the disarray of a post-genocide society. She immediately immersed herself in various associations that support vulnerable groups, in particular widows and orphans of the genocide, and children in difficult situations.

Madame Kagame has carried out her numerous obligations as the First Lady of the Republic of Rwanda and mother of four children while pursuing University studies, and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Financial Management.

Madame Kagame uses her position as the First Lady to advocate for the protection, support and care of families affected by HIV/AIDS. She is actively involved in mobilizing resources, at national and international levels; to support community based projects for the prevention of HIV/AIDS among youth, women and children.

At the international level, Madame Kagame has been a keen participant in several forums on the protection of the rights of the vulnerable. Most notably, in May 2001 in Kigali, she hosted the first ever gathering of the African First Ladies at the Kigali Summit on Children and HIV/AIDS Prevention. The Summit produced a decisive Declaration which outlined recommendations for each First Lady to undertake in her country, region and on the continent.

In July 2001, in collaboration with national and international partners represented in Rwanda, Madame Kagame developed the national plan of action of the Kigali Declaration. This framework resulted in the setting up of PACFA (Rwanda) Project, which stands for "Protection and Care of Families against HIV/AIDS". This initiative of the First Lady was launched in September 2001 and continues to register success in creating innovative and participative actions in the fight against HIV/AIDS, poverty and other forms of vulnerability.

In March 2003, the First Lady of Rwanda was formally recognized by the International AIDS Trust, for her untiring efforts in turning around the HIV pandemic. Madame Kagame was invited to deliver a keynote address at the award ceremony held in Washington D.C., and received the award from Senator Hillary Clinton.

Madame Kagame was actively involved in the creation of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), a formal framework, which enables the First Ladies from 40 African countries to join their efforts and lend their voices to the continuing fight against HIV/AIDS. In July 2004, during the 3rd Ordinary General Assembly of OAFLA, Madame Kagame was elected as President of organization for a two-year term.