MODEL RELEASED. AIDS ward. Patient and child in the AIDS ward of Central Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda. AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is caused by HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. The virus attacks the immune system, eventually making patients highly vulnerable to further infections. The spread of HIV in Rwanda was made worse by rape and social upheaval during the 1994 genocide. At the end of 2001, a United Nations report estimated that 260,000 Rwandan children are orphans because of AIDS. 500,000 Rwandans, including 65,000 children (aged 14 and under) are thought to be living with HIV/AIDS.