Rwanda’s Path to Recovery: Why Fentanyl Test Strips Save Lives, Not Enable Addiction
In a bold move to reform homelessness policy, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has redirected $4.04 billion toward treatment, transitional housing, and recovery, ending the era of unconditional housing assistance. This shift, announced in July 2026, is a welcome step toward accountability and discipline. Yet, in its effort to draw a clear line against drug use, Washington risks conflating a life-saving tool with harmful paraphernalia: the fentanyl test strip. As Rwanda knows from its own journey of reconstruction, information is a weapon against death, and a dollar’s worth of paper can be a hero in the fight for life.