The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

founded to provide treatment for and conduct

HIV/AIDS research HIV/AIDS research includes all medical research that attempts to prevent, treat, or cure HIV/AIDS, as well as fundamental research about the nature of HIV as an infectious agent and AIDS as the disease caused by HIV. Transmission A body of sci ...

. It is based in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa and is managed with the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. The Foundation operates community sites throughout greater Cape Town, providing treatment, testing, and outreach services to at-risk communities. The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation began as the HIV Research Unit based in New Somerset Hospital in the early 1990s. It was acclaimed as one of the first public clinics to offer

anti-retroviral The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multip ...

therapy to those living with HIV.

History

The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) founded by Robin Wood and

Linda-Gail Bekker Linda-Gail Bekker MBChB, DTMH, DCH, FCP(SA) is a Professor of Medicine and Chief Operating Officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. She is also Director of the Desmund Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town. She is a Past President ...

in January 2004. It is supported by

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

in its mission to include HIV and tuberculosis treatment, prevention, and training to the most affected populations in the South Africa and beyond. The DTHF has built a reputation for excellence in medical research and innovative community participation and support by working with local and international partners and with City and Provincial health authorities in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

. The foundation receives funding from PePFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) DAIDS ( Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), the

French Development Agency The French Development Agency (french: Agence française de développement, AFD) is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government. It works to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. This pub ...

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...

, and

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is a global not-for-profit, public-private partnership working to accelerate the development of vaccines to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. IAVI researches and develops vaccine candidates, conduct ...

, among others.

Projects

The DTHF's projects include support programs for HIV positive youth, distance-learning training manuals and education, clinical support by HIV positive counselors, outreach to vulnerable groups such as men who have sex with men, holistic youth services including a youth center building in Masiphumelele, women's health services, a children's

clinic, and two colorful mobile HIV testing units called Tutu Testers. The DTHF has set up adult and youth community advisory boards to assist in building relationships with communities and increasing their understanding of the studies the DTHF undertakes its sites. The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation head office is at the Faculty of Health Sciences,

. Our outreach sites are in

Gugulethu Gugulethu is a township in the Western Cape, South Africa and is 15 km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride''. The township was established along with Nyanga in the 1960s. History The ...

, Crossroads,

Nyanga Nyanga may mean: *Nyanga Province, of Gabon * Nyanga River, in Gabon and Congo *Nyanga people, an ethnic group from Congo *Nyanga, Zimbabwe, a town *Nyanga District, Zimbabwe *Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe * Nyanga, Western Cape, a township in S ...

Khayelitsha Khayelitsha () is a township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name is Xhosa for ''New Home''. It is reputed to be the largest

and

Masiphumelele Masiphumelele is a township on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, situated between Kommetjie, Capri Village and Noordhoek. Initially known as Site 5, the township was renamed Masiphumelele by its residents, which is a Xhosa word meaning "let us ...

. The foundation organized South African participantion for the

IPrEx iPrEx (from es, Iniciativa Profilaxis Pre-Exposición, "pre-exposure prophylaxis initiative") was a phase III clinical trial to determine whether the antiretroviral medication emtricitabine/tenofovir (as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) could saf ...

study, which was a

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

testing the effects of

Truvada Emtricitabine/tenofovir, sold under the brand name Truvada among others, is a fixed-dose combination antiretroviral medication used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. It contains the antiretroviral medications emtricitabine and tenofovir disopro ...

, a

pre-exposure prophylaxis Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the use of medications to prevent the spread of disease in people who have not yet been exposed to a disease-causing agent, usually a virus. The term typically refers to the use of antiviral drugs as a strate ...

for HIV infection. The IPrEx study recruited participants from six countries— Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and the United States — partnering with the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation for recruitment in South Africa.

Recognition

In 2009 Linda-Gail Bekker won the

Royal Society Pfizer Award The Royal Society Africa Prize (formerly known as the Royal Society Pfizer Prize) has been awarded by the Royal Society since 2006 to African-based researchers at the start of their career who are making innovative contributions to the biological ...

for the research she did at the DTHF concerning HIV and tuberculosis coinfections. In 2009 South Africa received R3.5-billion in development contracts from France as foreign aid, of which 3.3 million went to the DTHF.

References

External links

Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation
{{authority control Medical and health organisations based in South Africa HIV/AIDS research organisations