The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS care organisation, has announced the expansion of its global public health services to Ghana.

Dr Penninah Iutung, the Executive Vice President of the Foundation, said this at a media briefing on the sidelines of the ongoing International Conference on AIDS and STIs (ICASA ) in Accra.

She said AHF officials were already in talks with the Ministry of Health, as their Ghana programme would be built primarily through partnerships with the government, beginning with a formal Memorandum of Understanding currently under legal review.

“Our entry point is always the government; this gives us the opportunity to align with national HIV priorities and strengthen existing healthcare structures,” she said.

Dr Iutung said the AHF was known for rapid deployment and urgent care, saying, “HIV is a matter of life and death; people can live long, healthy lives now, so we don’t delay. Our value is in our speed and how fast we respond.”

She said that while AHF’s main model was facility-based support, the foundation may adapt community outreach strategies such as youth and key population-focused approaches in Ghana.

Dr Iutung said AHF’s roots could be traced to the early days of the HIV epidemic, when no treatment was available, and patients required significant post-hospitalisation care.

With the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the 1990s, AHF was formed to deliver lifesaving treatment to people living with HIV.

She said 24 years ago, AHF began scaling globally, launching its first ART programmes in South Africa and later Uganda.

It presently operates in 50 countries and provides care to more than 2.7 million people.

Ambassador Angelina Wapakabulo, Vice Global Chair and a founding member of AHF, said the foundation’s Uganda Cares programme, a community clinic model set up inside some of Uganda’s busiest markets, has been one of AHF’s most impactful innovations.

In the early 2000s, many organisations rejected the idea of providing HIV services in informal market spaces.

“People said it was impossible, markets are chaotic, vendors calling customers, no formal structures. But AHF said, ‘This is exactly where we are needed,’” she said.

Madam Wapakabulo said the approach of establishing clinics inside markets has, over the years, allowed women vendors to access HIV testing, treatment, TB care, and STI services without leaving their
stalls.

“Today, the market clinic takes care of over 10,000 patients. It addresses stigma and removes access barriers for communities that cannot spend hours in hospital queues,” she said.

AHF: The World’s Largest HIV Organization, Driven by Local Leadership

Dr. Jorge Saavedra, Executive Director of AHF’s Global Public Health Institute, underscored AHF’s commitment to local ownership of its country programs.

He said AHF’s expansion beyond HIV is driven partly by lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and global inequities in access to vaccines and therapeutics.

He said the foundation’s decision to expand into Ghana was inspired by President John Dramani Mahama’s strong advocacy for increased investment in public health.

“Developing countries must understand that health spending is not a cost, it is an investment,” Dr. Saavedra said. Adding “We see Ghana’s vision and want to support it.”

He praised the African Union’s model of continental health cooperation through the Africa CDC, describing it as a model that other regions can replicate.

The International Conference of HIV and STIs in Africa is the largest continental gathering on HIV/AIDS, STIs, TB, Malaria, and health system strengthening in Africa.

 The 23rd edition is presently underway in Accra, from Dec 3-8, on the theme: "Africa in Action: Catalysing Integrated Sustainable Responses to End AIDS, TB & Malaria”.

The conference aims to foster an environment free from stigma and advance Africa’s progress in health.