AIDS Foundation of South Africa

What AIDS Foundation of South Africa does

AIDS Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) is a Durban-based non-governmental organization founded in 1988 that operates as a grant manager and intermediary between institutional donors and community-based implementing organizations in South Africa's HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), sexually transmitted infections (STI), and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) sectors. AFSA maintains four to five core programmatic verticals — Adolescents and Young People, Sex Workers, Human Rights and Advocacy, Persons with Disabilities, and Community Systems Strengthening — plus the Ukusekela Small Projects Support Fund and a COVID-19 response stream, reaching adolescent girls and young women, sex workers, persons with disabilities, and orphans and vulnerable children. The organization also recently deployed eight digital X-ray mobile health vehicles (via Vertice Health Care) donated to the National Department of Health for TB screening in marginalized communities.

AFSA's business model is donor-funded managed services: it does not charge for its programmes and is instead financed through grants from institutional donors including the Global Fund (for which AFSA is one of four Principal Recipients covering 20-22 districts across 8-9 South African provinces for the 2022-2025 cycle), Bread for the World, Pivotal Ventures, and Lever for Change. Its go-to-market motion is a hybrid of channel-partner distribution (placing funds with strategically selected CBOs and NGOs and providing ongoing technical support and capacity building) and community-led direct delivery (door-to-door HIV testing, school-based programmes reaching 147 primary schools, and mobile TB screening units). The current CEO, Ms Ntombenhle Mkhize, was appointed in September 2020, succeeding prior leadership, and AFSA reported a headcount in the 51-100 range. The organization holds no proprietary technology products, APIs, or AI/ML systems and operates primarily as a programme-management and grant-administration body rather than a technology company.

Name

AIDS Foundation of South Africa

Legal name

AIDS Foundation of South Africa

Website

https://aids.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

AIDS Foundation of South Africa is a Durban-based NGO founded in 1988 that serves as a grant manager and intermediary between institutional donors and community-based organizations implementing HIV, TB, STI, and sexual and reproductive health programmes for vulnerable populations across South Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Social Assistance (624), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Bilateral Development & Aid Agencies (HLAJAKAB)

Keywords

• HIV prevention programs
• Community health grants
• Sexual reproductive health
• TB screening services
• NGO capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Durban

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: AFSA receives funding from international donors and development organizations including Global Fund, Bread for the World, Pivotal Ventures, and other foundations. Funds are allocated to implementing CBOs and NGOs with ongoing technical support.
2. Global Fund Principal Recipient: AFSA serves as one of four Principal Recipients for Global Fund grants, managing implementation through sub-recipients for HIV and TB programs across South Africa from April 2022 to March 2025.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AIDS Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) is a development non-governmental organization that acts as a grant manager and intermediary between international donors and community-based organizations. It implements programs addressing HIV, STI and TB prevention, sexual and reproductive health rights, gender-based violence, child protection, and inclusion of persons with disabilities across South Africa, serving as one of four Principal Recipients for Global Fund grants.

Product overview

AIDS Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) operates as a development organization and grant manager, not a unified technology product. The organization manages a portfolio of health programmes including the Adolescent and Young People Programme, Sex Worker Programme, Human Rights and Advocacy Programme, Persons with Disabilities Programme, Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programme, Small Projects Support Fund, Community Systems Strengthening Programme, and COVID-19 Response Programme. AFSA also serves as a Principal Recipient for Global Fund grants, distributing funding to community-based organizations. The organization has recently expanded into mobile health service delivery through digital X-ray vehicles for TB screening. The various programmes work together to reduce HIV, STI and TB infections and remove barriers to sexual and reproductive health rights across South African communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adolescent and Young People (AYP) Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Massive drop in teenage pregnancies reported at partner schools
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Thuthuzela Care CentrescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 December 2025AFSA refers cases of sexual abuse by teachers and school principals to Thuthuzela Care Centres for support and intervention.
• Sierra Leone counterpartsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Regional exchange workshop with partners from Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Tanzania to explore best practices and strengthen grant making.
• Zimbabwe counterpartsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Regional exchange workshop participants exploring grant-making best practices for Small Projects Fund.
• Nigeria counterpartsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Regional exchange workshop participants from Nigeria sharing key learnings from evaluations and program implementation.
• Tanzania counterpartsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Regional exchange workshop with Tanzania partners on grant-making for community-based partners across Africa.
• Authors ARE ARTISTS (AAA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025AFSA partnered with AAA to conduct Literature in the disability space workshop under theme 'Disability is not poverty' in Caluza area.
• Hands of Hope Special SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025AFSA PWD Programme and BFTW visited Hands of Hope Special School to review project progress and showcase participant skills.
• Educate Empower Elevate Foundation (EEE)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025EEE partnered with AFSA, REPSSI and others for Mind Over Miles Sports Day event at Kings Park Athletics Stadium for mental health awareness.
• REPSSIminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025REPSSI collaborated with AFSA on Mind Over Miles Sports Day event for mental health awareness and stigma reduction.
• CPC (Westrand District)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 September 2025AFSA's implementation partner in Westrand District hosted members of parliament and dignitaries including SANAC CEO, UNITAID, and SAPS to showcase equitable health services for sex workers.
• Vertice Health CarecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2025AFSA contracted Vertice Health Care to customize 8 Digital X-ray vehicles for donation to National Department of Health for TB service accessibility.
• National Department of Health (NDOH)flagshipImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 June 2025AFSA donated 8 mobile digital X-ray vehicles to NDOH to improve TB diagnosis. Hand-over ceremony held at Vertice warehouse with NDOH HoD Mr D Demana.
• DO MORE FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020AFSA partnered with DO MORE Foundation to distribute food parcels during Mandela Day 2020, reaching vulnerable children and families during COVID-19.
• NACOSAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2018AFSA and NACOSA co-organized 'End it Now! Together in response to GBV and HIV' national conference, funded by Global Fund, bringing together civil society and activists.
• Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism (GF CCM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGF CCM selected AFSA as Principal Recipient for Global Fund HIV and TB programs in South Africa for 2022-2025.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: AFSA's largest donor and grantor. While not a peer, included because AFSA's operating model is fundamentally shaped by Global Fund compliance, reporting and Principal Recipient requirements.

Direct peers

• ANOVA Health Institute: South African NGO focused on HIV/TB prevention, treatment and key populations including sex workers and MSM. Closely comparable in mission, target populations, and PEPFAR/Global Fund donor mix.
• mothers2mothers: African-based non-profit employing mentor mothers to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. Comparable in operating model (peer-led, community-based health interventions) and donor base across sub-Saharan Africa.
• Right to Care: South African non-profit and one of the other Principal Recipients for Global Fund HIV/TB grants, providing direct comparability on grant management scale, donor relationships, and provincial programme reach.
• REPSSI: Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative operating across Southern and East Africa on child wellbeing, mental health and HIV-affected communities. Collaborates with AFSA and shares community-systems-strengthening approach and donor landscape.
• Society for AIDS in South Africa (SAHIVCS): National society of HIV clinicians and professionals in South Africa. Comparable as a domestic HIV/AIDS coordinating body working with the same National Department of Health and donor network.
• loveLife: South African youth-focused HIV prevention organisation. Directly comparable to AFSA's Adolescent and Young People Programme in targeting AGYW and adolescents with SRHR messaging.
• NACOSA: South African network of civil society organisations implementing HIV/TB/GBV programmes with Global Fund support. NACOSA co-organises conferences with AFSA and shares the same target populations and donor ecosystem.
• Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation: Global non-profit focused on preventing pediatric HIV/AIDS. Comparable mission focus on vulnerable populations, donor-driven funding model, and country-level implementation partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• Population Services International (PSI): Global health non-profit with significant South Africa footprint delivering HIV/SRHR programmes. Larger, more diversified global player with overlapping target populations and donor mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AidsFoundationSA
• Xx.com/aids_sa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about AIDS Foundation of South Africa