RINDA

The Crisis

Critical Health Gaps in Rwanda's Youth Strategy

Every feature of RINDA directly solves a measurable crisis identified in the 2025 Rwanda Demographic & Health Survey.

🔬

Gap 1: The Youth Testing Crisis

Rwanda's testing programs are failing the youngest group. The majority of 15–19 year-olds have never been tested — ever.

81% of young men aged 15–19 never tested
Table 17.2, Rwanda DHS 2025

74.5% of young women aged 15–19 never tested
Table 17.1, Rwanda DHS 2025

📍 RINDA: discreet peer-delivered self-test kits. Legal for under-18s since Rwanda lowered consent age to 15.

⚡

Gap 2: The Female Condom-Use Gap

Distributing condoms doesn't work for poor, rural women — the barrier is power and negotiation, not access.

73.8% of young men 15–24 use condoms in higher-risk sex
vs only 47.4% of women

34.1% condom use among women in lowest wealth quintile
Table 16.1, Rwanda DHS 2025

📍 RINDA: audio-based Kinyarwanda negotiation roleplay modules.

📚

Gap 3: The Knowledge Gap

Youth without education or internet access are structurally excluded from urban-focused prevention campaigns.

48.7% HIV knowledge among rural young men 15–24

32.4% HIV knowledge among women with no formal education

📍 RINDA: USSD *775# works on any basic phone — zero data needed.

👶

Gap 4: The Teenage Pregnancy Surge

Pregnancy rates among adolescents are rising sharply between ages 15 and 19, driven by lack of modern contraceptive use.

19.9% of young women aged 19 have ever been pregnant
Table 4, Rwanda DHS 2025

46.0% of sexually active unmarried women use no method
Table 6, Rwanda DHS 2025

📍 RINDA: Cycle trackers & modern family planning education.

Rwanda DHS 2025

The Raw Evidence

Directly sourced from official Rwanda 2025 DHS tables — the foundation of every RINDA feature.

Table 15 — HIV Prevention Knowledge Among Young People (Rwanda 2025)
Characteristic	Women 15–24 (%)	N (Women)	Men 15–24 (%)	N (Men)
Age
15–19	53.9	2,897	46.8	1,337
15–17	50.0	1,749	42.2	810
18–19	60.0	1,148	54.0	526
20–24	61.3	2,489	60.5	1,019
Residence
Urban	62.2	1,758	63.2	657
Rural ⚠️	55.0	3,628	48.7	1,699
Education
No education 🚨	32.4	70	(40.2)	51
Primary	50.3	2,460	46.8	1,302
Secondary	63.2	2,727	60.6	962
More than secondary	80.4	129	(71.9)	41
Wealth Quintile
Lowest ⚠️	50.8	908	46.1	372
Second	54.6	1,022	51.4	427
Middle	55.8	1,041	46.0	493
Fourth	60.6	1,110	56.7	539
Highest	62.4	1,305	60.8	524
Total 15–24	57.3	5,386	52.7	2,356

Table 17.1 — Coverage of Prior HIV Testing: Women aged 15–49 (Rwanda 2025)
Characteristic	Ever Tested & Got Results (%)	Tested, No Results (%)	Never Tested (%)	% Ever Tested	N
Age
15–24 ⚠️	45.5	1.7	52.8	47.2	5,386
15–19 🚨	24.1	1.4	74.5	25.5	2,897
20–24	70.5	2.0	27.6	72.5	2,489
25–29	92.6	1.8	5.7	94.3	2,032
30–39	96.9	1.3	1.8	98.3	3,790
Residence
Urban	78.4	1.2	20.4	79.6	4,570
Rural ⚠️	76.2	1.5	22.3	77.8	9,713
Wealth Quintile
Lowest 🚨	79.5	1.6	19.0	81.0	2,642
Highest	77.0	1.5	23.6	76.4	3,272
Total 15–49	76.9	1.4	21.7	78.4	14,283

Table 16.1 — Condom Use During Higher-Risk Sex: Women (Rwanda 2025)
Characteristic	Women with 2+ Partners (%)	Had Non-Spouse Partner (%)	Condom Used (Non-Spouse) (%)	N
Age
15–24 ⚠️	2.0	13.0	47.4	5,386
15–19 🚨	1.3	9.4	(36.8)	2,897
20–24	2.9	17.3	52.3	2,489
Residence
Urban	2.7	14.2	48.7	4,570
Rural ⚠️	1.5	9.4	42.1	9,713
Wealth Quintile
Lowest 🚨	2.6	13.2	34.1	2,642
Second	1.5	9.3	(34.9)	2,738
Highest	1.4	11.5	(50.9)	3,272
Total 15–49	1.9	11.0	44.8	14,283

⚠️ Compare: Men aged 15–24 report 73.8% condom use in higher-risk sex (Table 16.2). The 26.4pp gender gap is the central driver of Rinda's Negotiation Modules.

Table 4 — Teenage Pregnancy and Motherhood (Rwanda 2025)
Age	Live Birth (%)	Current Pregnant (%)	Ever Pregnant (%)	N (Sample)
15	0.6	0.2	0.8	561
16	1.2	1.0	2.2	613
17	4.5	0.9	5.5	575
18 ⚠️	8.1	4.0	12.1	577
19 🚨	14.0	5.6	19.9	570
Residence
Urban	4.1	1.6	5.9	864
Rural ⚠️	6.3	2.6	9.0	2,033
Province
East 🚨	8.5	3.6	12.1	870
South	5.0	1.8	7.0	643
Education
No Education 🚨	12.4	8.9	21.3	28
Primary	8.8	3.7	12.7	1,337
Secondary	2.7	1.0	3.8	1,523
Total 15–19	5.6	2.3	8.1	2,897

Table 6 — Contraceptive Use Among Sexually Active Unmarried Women (Rwanda 2025)
Method	Urban (%)	Rural (%)	Total (%)
Any modern method	52.2	51.7	51.9
Implants 💊	24.6	25.4	25.0
Injectables	15.4	12.5	13.7
Male condom 🛡️	3.9	10.3	7.5
Emergency contraception	2.8	0.0	1.2
Not currently using 🚨	47.1	45.2	46.0
Total (Sample 15–49)	100.0	100.0	100.0

🚨 Critical Gap: 46.0% of sexually active unmarried women are not using any form of protection. Rinda's tracker and library target this exact group.

Our Response

A Comprehensive Protection Framework

Every Rinda feature is a direct, measured response to a specific health crisis identified in the 2025 Rwanda Demographic & Health Survey.

Feature 01

📦

Confidential Protective Services

Anonymous ordering of HIV self-tests and contraceptives (condoms/pills) delivered by trained peer agents in unmarked packaging to ensure absolute privacy.

✅ Solves: Testing Gap & Protection Access

Feature 02

🎙️

Safe Negotiation Roleplay

Audio-based Kinyarwanda modules teaching youth to confidently negotiate protection and boundaries, addressing the 47% contraceptive gap in unmarried women.

✅ Solves: Female Agency & Negotiation Gap

Feature 03

📅

Smart Cycle & Health Tracker

A data-driven menstrual cycle tracker helping young women manage their health, detect fertile windows, and learn about reproductive biology without expensive apps.

✅ Solves: Adolescent Health Literacy

Feature 04

📚

Knowledge Hub & Peer Support

A comprehensive library of RDHS-backed guides on family planning, HIV prevention, and sign language, with a secure community chat for peer guidance.

✅ Solves: The Rural Knowledge Gap

The Journey

How RINDA Works

A seamless, fully anonymous flow from first contact to confirmed HIV status.

Youth dials *775# or opens the platform

Works on any phone. No internet needed for USSD. Available in Kinyarwanda and English. Voice-guided for visually impaired users.

Anonymous self-test kit ordered or module started

No name required — only sector + pickup number. Female users are directed to the Negotiation Module. All others take the HIV Knowledge Quiz.

Peer agent delivers kit in unmarked packaging

Youth-led community volunteers trained in basic counseling. Agents serving deaf users know basic sign language. No clinic visit, no stigma.

Results interpreted via USSD hotline

A toll-free USSD code connects to a trained counselor (text or voice). HIV-positive users are immediately connected to the nearest ART clinic with transport support.

Follow-up: Modules + Recurring Testing Reminders

HIV-negative users are enrolled in a 3-month reminder cycle and directed to Condom Negotiation Modules. Impact tracked anonymously.

Competitive Edge

Why RINDA Wins iAccelerator 7

Every judge criterion — addressed with evidence, not promises.

📊

100% Data-Driven

Every feature maps to a specific DHS 2025 table. No assumptions — pure evidence. Judges can verify every number directly from official Rwanda source data.

✓ Tables 15, 16.1, 16.2, 17.1, 17.2 cited

🇷🇼

Genuinely Bilingual

Not just "available in Kinyarwanda" — every module is built first in Kinyarwanda. Audio, USSD menus, and negotiation dialogues are all native-language first.

✓ Kinyarwanda-first design

⚖️

Legally Compliant at Age 15

Rwanda's 2024 law lowering medical consent to 15 is the legal foundation of Rinda's anonymity model — deliberately designed within Rwandan law, not around it.

✓ Rwanda Ministry of Health, 2024

📡

Zero-Internet Reach

USSD *775# works on any $5 feature phone with zero data. No other youth HIV platform in Rwanda has cracked this last-mile access problem at scale.

✓ Works on 2G with zero data cost

♿

Disability is Structural

Disability inclusion is woven into the USSD voice system (visual impairment), peer-agent sign-language training (deaf), and the home-delivery model (mobility).

✓ Meets iAccelerator 7 mandatory criterion

🚀

Proven Scalability Path

The peer-agent model scales through Rwanda's existing CHW networks. USSD infrastructure uses MTN and Airtel, which already cover 98% of Rwanda's territory.

✓ Scales through existing infrastructure

iAccelerator 7 Mandatory Requirement

Built for Every Youth — Including Persons with Disabilities

Disability inclusion is structurally embedded into every core Rinda feature — not bolted on as an afterthought.

👁️

Visually Impaired Youth

USSD voice system reads all menus aloud in Kinyarwanda. No screen or reading required at any step.

🤟

Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Youth

Sign-language trained peer agents deliver kits and explain results without a clinic interpreter.

📱

Low Literacy Users

All content pairs with audio narration and icon-based navigation. Zero literacy required to complete any module.

♿

Mobility-Impaired Youth

Home delivery model: peer agents come to the user. Fully accessible from home — no clinic travel required.

💬 Voices

What Youth Are Saying

Composite voices reflecting real experiences gathered in youth focus groups conducted during Rinda's community research phase. *Names changed for privacy.

"I was terrified of going to a clinic. When I found out I could test at home — alone, in 20 minutes — everything changed. Now I test every 6 months. Knowing my status gave me power over my own life."

👩🏾

Grace, 17

Kigali — First-time tester

"My girlfriend and I got tested together using self-test kits. It was the best decision we ever made. The conversation I was most afraid of became the most important one of our relationship."

🧑🏾

Jean, 22

Huye — Couples testing advocate

"I used to think condoms were unnecessary. Then my classmate was diagnosed. That could have been me. Now I use protection every single time — no exceptions. 30 seconds for a lifetime of safety."

🧑🏾

Patrick, 19

Musanze — University student

🗺️ Coverage

Nationwide Reach

Rinda's peer-agent network covers all 5 provinces — urban and rural.

🟡Kigali City

Hub HQ. Densest peer-agent network. Same-day delivery. 3 active districts: Gasabo, Kicukiro, Nyarugenge.

🟢Northern Province

Musanze, Burera, Gicumbi. University campus partnerships. 24–48hr delivery through trained volunteers.

🔴Southern Province

Huye, Nyanza, Muhanga. Expanding through health-centre partnerships. USSD-first approach for rural areas.

🔵Western Province

Rubavu, Rusizi, Karongi. Cross-border outreach model. Voice-guided USSD in Kinyarwanda for low-literacy users.

🟣Eastern Province

Rwamagana, Bugesera, Kayonza. Agricultural communities with highest USSD uptake. Mobile-first strategy.

👥 Team

Meet the Team

Built by young Rwandans, for young Rwandans.

👨🏾‍💻

NSHUTI Yves

📋 Project Lead 💻 Tech Lead

Strategy, DHS data analysis, pitch design & MoH partnerships. Platform architecture, USSD integration, offline-first PWA engineering, and accessibility implementation.

👩🏾‍⚕️

ISHIMWE Aimee Benitha

🏥 Health Advisor 🤝 Community Lead

Self-test protocol design, peer-agent training, PWD inclusion framework & clinical QA. Peer-agent recruiting, campus ambassador programme, youth focus groups, and community testing events.