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Natalie Mukagasana Sugira

A Voice for AIDS Prevention in Rwanda

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Natalie Sugira, Student Activist

Natalie Mukagasana Sugira grew up in a tiny village outside Kigali, the capital of Rwanda and never imagined that she would one day be lobbying policymakers in Washington, DC, on human rights and AIDS prevention. But in March 2006, as a student representative for the State of Iowa for Physicians for Human Rights, she traveled to Washington to lobby Congress for more federal AIDS funding, particularly for African nations.

For her, the message was personal.

In Rwanda, more than five percent of the population, or 250,000 people, are infected with HIV/AIDS, including many women who were raped by soldiers during the 1994 genocide. The genocide also destroyed health-care centers, pushing the country deeper into poverty and compounding the HIV/AIDS crisis by contributing to a shortage of doctors and nurses.

Ms. Sugira, 41, was living in the United States with her husband, a Fulbright fellow, when the fighting in Rwanda broke out. Her parents and a sister died in the conflict. One brother's fate remains unknown. Two of her brothers have been jailed for the past 14 years.

Ms. Sugira, who was granted political asylum in the United States, is now pursuing an MA in Health Promotion and Education at the University of Iowa at Cedar Falls and she has become a powerful advocate on human rights and AIDS issues that affect Rwanda.

In September 2005, she organized an unprecedented state panel, called "Bridging Iowa and Africa," which brought together community members –-  including pastors, policy officials, nurses and local citizens--  on the topic of AIDS. She has also started a group for public health students on campus, the HIV/AIDS Coalition, which is organizing a marathon to raise awareness and funds

Of her eight siblings, Ms. Sugira was the only one to get an education beyond elementary school. Her parents, who could not write or read themselves, sold a cow and several goats to send her to secondary school, where she graduated at the top of her class.

She has said of her human rights work, "When I do the things I do, I really owe it to them because everyone in my family has sacrificed. I must speak up, because so many of the women who survived the genocide are now dying of AIDS."

Ms. Sugira, who did not speak English when she first moved here, earned certificates in public administration, French, and global health and health disparities before entering graduate school for public health.

"I wasn't expected to be where I am today, a farmer's girl. I was no one. Physicians for Human Rights has allowed me to use my voice," she says.