South Africa

In response to South Africa’s high HIV prevalence rate, Society for Family Health (SFH) South Africa works in collaboration with the government to increase access to voluntary medical male circumcision, which decreases the chance of spreading HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, in the communities that it serves. These services are integrated into public health facilities and offered through mobile clinics and partnerships with general practitioners. SFH also works with traditional leaders to frame voluntary medical male circumcision as a customary male initiation practice in their communities.

SFH works to catalyze the market for HIV self-testing in South Africa. Programming positions self-testing as an innovative approach that allows clients to access testing at their convenience, ultimately increasing access to the services.

HIV testing services like self-testing provide an entry point to treatment and care and are crucial to achieving the UN’s 95-95-95 target—that by 2030, 95% of those who are HIV positive know their status, 95% of those who know their status are on treatment and 95% of those on treatment are virally suppressed. Services focus on engaging the sexual networks of their clients who are HIV positive, which increases the chances of finding people living with HIV who may not be aware of their status.

SFH invests in reducing sexual risk by changing behaviors and has deepened this investment with a combination prevention approach to its HIV program delivery. SFH has also expanded its cadre of dedicated condom promoters and through this programming has increased its understanding of behavior change communication. Condom promotion is an integral part of SFH’s HIV testing, voluntary medical male circumcision and social and behavior change programs.

PSI South Africa, a social enterprise that is part of the PSI network, has also been selling condoms since its inception in 2012 and aims to create a sustainable business model that develops targeted solutions, increases consumer choice and improves access to quality, affordable health products so that condoms are available to all.

In 2018, SFH expanded its behavior change programs into the public school system and in communities. South Africa’s National Strategic Plan for 2017 to 2022 places a focus on primary prevention of both HIV and tuberculosis and on the strengthening of social and behavior change programming. SFH’s behavior change activities have been part of two major programs, the USAID-funded Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) project, which aims to reduce rates of HIV among adolescent girls and young women, and the South African Department of Basic Education’s Sexuality and HIV Prevention Education Activity.

Historically, PSI has always taken an enterprise-style approach to global health challenges, coupling donor funding with marketing, the use of branded products and consumer insights from the private sector. Now, PSI is leveraging this approach in South Africa through the social enterprise, PSI South Africa, to support a healthy market to fulfill donor expectations for more sustainable approaches. PSI South Africa uses sound marketing and business discipline in its social enterprises to ensure the long-term viability of consumer-powered healthcare by balancing the pursuit of social impact and financial self-reliance.