Southern African HIV Clinicians Society

What Southern African HIV Clinicians Society does

Southern African HIV Clinicians Society (SAHCS) is a Johannesburg-based non-profit membership organisation founded in 1998 that serves over 12,000 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare workers across Southern Africa working in HIV prevention, care, and treatment. Its core offering is a portfolio of evidence-based clinical education products: eight CPD-accredited online courses (Advanced HIV Management for Doctors and Nurses, NIMART, PIMART, STI, PrEP, TB, and Cryptococcal Meningitis) delivered via the SAHCS e-Learning Platform (sahcsonlinelearning.org), a 22-year PubMed Central and DHET-accredited peer-reviewed journal (SAJHIVMED), the HIV Nursing Matters publication (41 editions since 2010), 69 clinical guidelines published since 2000, a digitised interactive ART guidelines portal, CPD-accredited CME webinars, and biennial conferences (7 held since 2012, with the 7th in Cape Town in August 2025 and the 3rd Long-Acting HIV Treatment Conference scheduled for September 2026). The Society's guidelines are adopted by the South African National Department of Health and other regional ministries as well as by the medical aid industry, positioning SAHCS as a standard-setter for HIV clinical practice in the region.

SAHCS makes money through a diversified non-profit revenue mix: one-time course fees (R1,800–R7,450 per course), recurring CPD-accredited training and subscription revenue, journal article processing charges (ZAR1,694 per A4 page), conference registrations, and — most importantly — donor funding, with Gilead Sciences cited as a named financial partner supporting the free PrEP course. Membership is offered free for 2026, indicating a strategic shift toward user acquisition across all healthcare-worker cadres. The organisation is registered as a Section 21 company and Public Benefit Organisation under South African law, with donations qualifying for 18A tax-deductible status. Governance is via a Board of Directors led by President Dr Ndiviwe Mphothulo and Deputy President Prof Yunus Moosa, with the secretariat run by CEO Fiona Storie. Strategically, SAHCS pursues a community-led, membership-driven go-to-market motion that combines free CPD content with paid courses, conferences, and journal publication, leveraging its KOL-heavy board and statutory influence on HIV policy to reinforce its position as the leading professional society for HIV clinicians in Southern Africa.

Name

Southern African HIV Clinicians Society

Legal name

Southern African HIV Clinicians Society

Website

https://sahivsoc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Southern African HIV Clinicians Society (SAHCS) is a Johannesburg-based non-profit membership organisation, founded in 1998, that delivers CPD-accredited online courses, clinical guidelines, a peer-reviewed journal, and biennial conferences to over 12,000 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare workers across Southern Africa working in HIV.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Professional Society and Healthcare Professional Education

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE) (EDAGANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

Keywords

• HIV clinical education
• CPD accredited training
• Clinical practice guidelines
• Medical journal publishing
• Professional society membership

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Course Fees: Revenue generated from paid online clinical courses including Advanced HIV Management for Doctors (R7,450), Nurses (R2,350), NIMART (R4,945), PIMART (R4,945), STI (R3,000), TB (R3,000), and Cryptococcal Meningitis (R1,800). Some courses like PrEP are offered free.
2. Membership Fees: Revenue from membership subscriptions for healthcare workers. Free membership offered for 2026 to all cadres of healthcare providers.
3. Journal Publication Charges (APC): Article Processing Charges for SAJHIVMED journal: ZAR1,694.00 (excl. VAT) per A4 output page in PDF format, with average article length of 7 pages.
4. Conference Registrations: Revenue from biennial SAHCS conferences including the 7th conference held August 2025 and upcoming 3rd Long-Acting HIV Treatment Conference in September 2026.
5. CPD Points Accreditation: Revenue from CPD-accredited continuing medical education activities including webinars, courses, and conferences. Courses carry varying CPD points (e.g., 30 CPD for Advanced HIV Management for Doctors, 30 for NIMART, 12 for STI course).
6. Donor Funding: SAHCS relies on donor funding to support its mission of strengthening and supporting quality comprehensive, evidence-based HIV healthcare in Southern Africa. The organisation is a public benefit organisation with tax-deductible donation status under section 18A of the Income Tax Act.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SAHCS is a membership-based professional society that delivers CPD-accredited online clinical courses, peer-reviewed journal publication, evidence-based HIV practice guidelines, CME webinars, and biennial conferences to healthcare professionals in Southern Africa. It generates revenue through paid course fees, article processing charges, conference registrations, and donor funding, while providing free membership to all cadres of healthcare providers for 2026.

Product overview

The Southern African HIV Clinicians Society (SAHCS) operates as a membership organization offering a portfolio of interconnected educational and clinical resources for healthcare professionals. The core offerings include eight accredited online training courses (Advanced HIV Management for Doctors and Nurses, NIMART, PIMART, STI, PrEP, TB, and Cryptococcal Meningitis courses), two publications (the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine peer-reviewed journal and HIV Nursing Matters magazine), clinical practice guidelines, CME webinars, and biennial conferences. The SAHCS eLearning Platform (sahcsonlinelearning.org) serves as the primary digital delivery mechanism for courses, while the digitized ARV Therapy Guidelines provide interactive online clinical guidance. These products collectively support evidence-based HIV healthcare education, training, and clinical decision-making for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals across Southern Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine (SAJHIVMED): DHET and PubMed Central accredited medical journal focused on HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and related topics relevant to clinical and public health practice.
• HIV Nursing Matters
• SAHCS eLearning Platform

Products and services

• Advanced HIV Management Course for Doctors

Quantifiable outcome

• 69 clinical guidelines published since 2000, adopted by medical aid industry and national health departments
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAHCS Advanced Clinical HIV Management course is designed for doctors looking to complete a Diploma in HIV Medicine through CMSA, aligning professional development with formal qualification pathways.
• South African National Department of HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAHCS guidelines are adopted by the Department of Health and adapted for national use. Collaboration on ART guidelines, PMTCT guidelines, and clinical standards for HIV care across South Africa.
• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAHCS guidelines align with WHO HIV and TB guidelines. Society monitors and informs development and implementation of national HIV policy in alignment with international standards.
• Desmond Tutu Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr Nomathemba Chandiwana, SAHCS Board member, serves as Chief Scientific Officer at Desmond Tutu Health Foundation. Collaborative involvement in HIV research and NCD-HIV intersection studies.
• CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProf Kogieleum Naidoo, SAHCS Board member, heads Treatment Research Program at CAPRISA. Her research on TB-HIV co-infection has shaped both local and international guidelines.
• Wits Health Consortium - Clinical HIV Research UnitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr Tom Boyles, SAHCS Board member, builds research team at Clinical HIV Research Unit, a division of Wits Health Consortium, focusing on improving outcomes of inpatients with advanced HIV disease.
• Medical Aid IndustryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAHCS guidelines are adopted by the medical aid industry, demonstrating commercial recognition and integration of Society standards in private healthcare reimbursement.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC): IAPAC is a global association representing HIV clinicians and care providers, focused on accelerating quality HIV care delivery through clinician training, guideline development, and conferences. Like SAHCS, it sits at the intersection of clinical training, guideline-setting, and advocacy for HIV care providers, with international scope.
• HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) of IDSA: HIVMA is the US professional association for physicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals dedicated to HIV medicine, embedded within the Infectious Diseases Society of America. It provides clinical guidelines, CME, advocacy, and member education — a direct US counterpart to SAHCS's role in Southern Africa.
• European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS): EACS is a Europe-wide society of HIV clinicians that develops and updates the widely-used European HIV treatment guidelines, hosts the European AIDS Conference, and provides accredited clinical education. It is the most direct regional peer to SAHCS — both organizations translate guideline authorship into clinical training and conference revenue.
• American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM): AAHIVM is a US-based professional association for HIV clinicians that provides HIV Specialist credentialing, continuing education, and clinical practice resources. It is the closest structural analogue to SAHCS in the US market — same combination of membership, accredited clinical training, and guidelines — making it the most direct peer.
• ASHM (Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine): ASHM is the Australasian professional society for clinicians working in HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexual health — providing accredited training, clinical guidelines, and policy advocacy across Australia and the region. It is a strong regional-peer analogue to SAHCS, with overlapping scope in HIV, STIs, and clinician credentialing.
• British HIV Association (BHIVA): BHIVA is the leading UK association for professionals working in HIV, producing clinical guidelines adopted by NHS, running annual conferences, and providing accredited education for HIV clinicians. It mirrors SAHCS's combination of guideline-setting, conference organizing, and clinician education in a different national market.

Broad incumbents

• International AIDS Society (IAS): The IAS is the world's largest association of HIV professionals, hosting the International AIDS Conference and producing policy and educational resources globally. It is the international-scale analogue of SAHCS — both are clinician- and researcher-facing societies in the HIV space, though IAS operates at much broader scope (prevention, treatment, advocacy) across global geographies versus SAHCS's regional clinical-training focus.

Emerging players

• Foundation for Professional Development (FPD): FPD is a South African health professional education and development organization offering CPD-accredited training for clinicians, including HIV-related courses. It operates in the same regional CPD training market as SAHCS, with overlapping audiences among nurses, doctors, and pharmacists in HIV care.
• Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF): DTHF is a leading South African HIV research and implementation organization based in Cape Town, with board-level overlap with SAHCS (Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana serves as CSO at DTHF and on the SAHCS board). It operates in adjacent clinical research and HIV/NCD intersection rather than as a direct training competitor.

Others

• CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa): CAPRISA is a leading South African HIV research centre conducting clinical trials on HIV prevention and TB-HIV co-infection, with Prof Kogieleum Naidoo serving on both CAPRISA's leadership and SAHCS's board. It is an adjacent research institution rather than a training competitor, but its outputs feed SAHCS guidelines and conferences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses6 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SAHIVSoc
• Facebookfacebook.com/SAHIVSoc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-african-hiv-clinicians-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern African HIV Clinicians Society