Right to Care is a non-profit organisation (Section 21) that builds public- and private-sector capacity for the care and treatment of individuals living with HIV and associated diseases.
Right to Care was established in Johannesburg in 2001. It is funded chiefly by grants from the US government, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Through a variety of programmes and partnerships with government and NGOs, Right to Care supports over 170 sites and funds the care or treatment of over 100 000 HIV-positive individuals.
Right to Care has a multi-pronged approach to the HIV epidemic, among which are:

•  Supporting the government’s HIV & AIDS programme through human resources, training, data management, and infrastructure
•  Forming partnerships with the private sector and other NGOs to ensure the delivery of safe, effective, and affordable antiretroviral therapy
•  Facilitating access to HIV counselling and testing services
•  Training and supporting of private-sector doctors in the management of HIV & AIDS

Right to Care has over 700 fulltime members of staff, located mainly in the five provinces in which the organisation has a major presence.

Key services

The summaries below of key services are based on results for the 2009 financial year (October 2008 September 2009).

Partnerships

Through partnerships with the national and provincial health departments and with NGOs, Right to Care supports 76 sites providing HIV testing, care, or treatment. Government sites, of which there are 49, are distributed across five provinces: Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, Free State, and Western Cape.
Right to Care supports 18 NGO partners, which operate 27 sites. 

Through its Thusong programme, Right to Care funds the antiretroviral treatment of private patients under the care of 70 general practitioners.
Including the Thusong doctors. In addition, through its experts treatment programme Right to Car manages the ARV treatment of the employees of 27 private companies.

Counselling and testing

HIV counselling and testing is provided to over 220 000 people a year. Testing is provided directly to individuals, as part of Right to Care’s Proudly Tested^TM programme. Testing is also done through NGO partners and government clinics. TB tests performed on HIV positive patients annually 24 693.

HIV care and support

Right to Care provides over 100 000 patients with HIV care. Of these, two-thirds are in care at government facilities and the remainder are in clinics operated by NGO partners.

Antiretroviral treatment

Right to Care has over 70 000 patients on antiretroviral treatment. Of these, two-thirds are being treated at government-operated facilities. The organisation has over 4000 paediatric patients (14 years of age or under) on antiretroviral treatment.

Governance and leadership

Right to Care has matured from a start-up, pioneer-led organisation to a well-established donor-funded NGO. In light of this, an investment has been made to establish corporate governance standards that meet King II requirements.
Right to Care has three executive directors. Prof Ian Sanne is the Managing Director of the organisation. Kurt Firnhaber is the Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director. Dr Thembisile Xulu is the Director of Clinical Programmes. In addition, five non-executive directors sit on the board. They are:
• Dr Ali Bacher (Chairman)
• Dr Brian Brink
• Dr Gustaaf Wolvaardt
• Dr Alan Knott-Craig.
• Reginald Muzariri

Organisational details

Right to Care (association incorporated under Section 21)
Registered offices:
  Helen Joseph hospital
  Perth Road
  Westdene, Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0) 011 276-8850
Auditors: Deloitte, Tel: +27 (0) 11 209-8913
Financial year: 1 October to 30 September
Web: www.righttocare.org

 Updated: 11/08/2010