Kigali Couple Thrives With Different HIV Statuses

When Janvier Igabe walked into a Kigali salon in January 2020 for a haircut, he noticed Josiane Tuyishimire and felt an instant connection. Within moments of expressing his interest, she shared something that would have scared many people away: she was living with HIV.

"I was scared," Igabe admits. "I didn't know much about HIV and had never met anyone I knew living with it." But her honesty and kindness convinced him she was worth everything.

Igabe is HIV negative. Tuyishimire is living with HIV. Together, they're proving that love can bridge what medicine calls a "discordant couple" relationship, where partners have different HIV statuses.

After going public with their story on YouTube in 2021, the Rwanda Network of People Living with HIV connected them with clinicians who taught them about modern HIV science. Igabe learned about PrEP, a daily pill that prevents HIV infection in negative partners. Tuyishimire learned about consistent antiretroviral therapy and the principle of U=U: undetectable equals untransmittable.

When someone living with HIV takes their medication consistently and maintains an undetectable viral load, they cannot transmit the virus to sexual partners. It's a scientific fact that's transforming relationships like theirs.

The couple dated for a year before marrying in 2021. After a month of Tuyishimire's consistent treatment, doctors confirmed her viral load was suppressed. Eight months into their marriage, they began trying for a baby.

Today, they have two daughters, ages four and two. Both girls are HIV negative and thriving.

Tuyishimire's journey to this happiness was difficult. She contracted HIV at age seven through repeated sexual abuse by her father. She didn't learn her status until age 16, and the trauma led her to stop treatment in 2018 and attempt suicide three times.

In 2019, support from the Ndineza Organization helped her restart treatment and rebuild her life. Meeting Igabe the following year gave her new purpose.

"My husband is my main support," Tuyishimire says. "He is my family."

Why This Inspires

The couple now serves as youth ambassadors with RRP+, mentoring other discordant couples. They've helped eight couples get married by sharing their knowledge and showing that HIV doesn't define a relationship's potential.

When relatives and friends questioned Igabe's choice, he stood firm. He insisted his wife and family be treated with respect, helping break down stigma in their community.

Rwanda plans to introduce lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable HIV prevention medication, later this year. Igabe says innovations like this will protect more people and reduce the stigma of daily medication.

Their message is simple but powerful: with the right medical support and commitment, discordant couples can build full, happy lives together, have healthy children, and show others that living with HIV is not a death sentence.