The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the world’s largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider, delivering medical care and advocacy across 47 countries (14 of which are in Africa). Since its founding in 1987, AHF has combined clinical services with bold policy advocacy to reach communities that are often underserved or forgotten. With operations spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, AHF continues fighting for equitable access to life-saving healthcare and challenging systems that fail the most vulnerable.
AHF supports a wide range of services globally and locally, from HIV testing and treatment to tuberculosis (TB) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) care and reproductive health, youth empowerment, and food support programmes. AHF also advocates fiercely for fair drug pricing, stronger public health policy, and inclusive, community-led approaches to health.
AHF South Africa has been operational since 2002, when it established its first global clinic – the Ithembalabantu People’s Hope Clinic – in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal. Since then, AHF South Africa has grown into the organisation’s largest AHF programme on the continent, serving over 250,000 clients nationwide.
Working in close collaboration with the National Department of Health and provincial governments in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga, AHF supports the delivery of comprehensive HIV, STI, and TB services under the national HAST framework (HIV, AIDS, STIs, and TB).
Number of tests conducted
In 2024, AHF South Africa conducted 561,930 HIV tests, recording a sero-positivity rate of 2.30%. By May 2025, 215,376 tests had already been completed, with a slightly lower sero-positivity rate of 2.10%. AHF also distributed 3,274,560 free condoms in 2024 and an additional 2,096,640 condoms by May 2025. The linkage to care rate—reflecting the proportion of individuals who tested positive and were successfully linked to treatment—stood at 89% in 2024 and 86% as of May 2025.
Prevention and Clinical Programmes
AHF South Africa plays a crucial role in strengthening healthcare delivery models, service standards, and the strategic implementation of HAST (HIV, AIDS, STIs, and TB) services. The programme currently supports 61 health facilities across the four provinces (number to be updated), with HAST in the form of direct service delivery at the supported sites, training and capacity building, mentoring, monitoring and evaluation, and provision of other resources such as human resource capital, equipment and infrastructure.
In addition, AHF provides:
- CD4 and viral load testing
- Laboratory monitoring and treatment for opportunistic infections
- On-site pharmacy services
- Free condom distribution
- Community outreach and HIV testing with strong linkage-to-care strategies
AHF South Africa also champions community power voices, building the capacity of communities to advocate for their healthcare needs while aligning with national advocacy goals for a seamless, rights-based patient journey.
The organization works very closely with the Department of Health and contributes towards the development of the country’s NSP through active participation in the AIDS Council structures.
Current service reach:
- Patients on ART: 258,570
- Clinics supported: 61
Advocacy and Youth Empowerment
In South Africa, young women and girls are disproportionately affected by HIV. Among youth aged 20–24, HIV prevalence is 15.6% for females, compared to 4.8% for males.
In response, AHF South Africa runs targeted youth empowerment programmes, including:
- Girls ACT: A programme that equips adolescent girls and young women with knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), distributes hygiene packs and sanitary pads, promotes school retention, and provides psychosocial support. Girls ACT also encourages peer-led health advocacy and leadership.
- Young People’s Programme: Reaches adolescent boys and girls with combination HIV prevention, hygiene kits, and education around positive masculinity, voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC), and correct condom use.
These initiatives are aligned with the Department of Health’s Adolescent and Youth Friendly Services (AYFS) strategy and are designed to reduce HIV risk, prevent unintended pregnancies, and promote gender equality.
Gender-based violence is a widespread problem in South Africa, impacting many aspects of life. To combat this issue, AHF South Africa advocates for increased access to post-exposure prophylaxis for victims of rape and raises awareness about the correlation between GBV and HIV. The organisation also engages with governments at different levels from community representatives to parliamentarians and decision makers to promote favourable policies and uses creative billboards to encourage positive behavioral change.
Dr. Nombuso Madonsela, Country Programme Director at AHF South Africa, adds: “The fight against HIV continues. Through collaborative efforts with multilateral stakeholders, we aim to reduce and ultimately eradicate new HIV infections. Our work is guided by the belief that healthcare is a human right, and we strive to ensure that everyone needing antiretroviral therapy (ART) can access it. But we must go further. We need to build stronger health systems, deepen HIV literacy, and dismantle the stigma that continues to isolate and endanger so many. Ending HIV is possible by 2030, but only if we all act with urgency, partnership, and compassion.”
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