SACBC (Southern African Catholic Bishops´ Conference) PDF Print E-mail

Contact person: Sister Alison Munro (HIV and AIDS Office)
Tel: 012 323 6458
Fax: 012 326 6218
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.sacbc.org.za
Address: Khanya House, 399 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria, 0002.

Today the Catholic Church is a major provider of care, treatment and support to people affected and affected by HIV and AIDS. Programmes in South Africa, under the SACBC, are responding in a variety of ways. The SACBC believes that local community-driven initiatives are the key to adequately addressing the needs of people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS. The SACBC therefore supports many of these initiatives through capacity-building programmes and financial support.

The Catholic Church has a network of over 140 service programmes for people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa (working through Catholic hospitals, clinics, hospices, and home-based care and orphan programmes) making it the largest service provider in the country, after the government. The church is also present in all communities, and can therefore reach communities and individuals who live in areas that are remote or marginalised.


The SACBC HIV and AIDS Office assists the Catholic Church throughout the country to:

  •  Co-ordinate its response to the epidemic.
  •  Fundraise for diocesan and local community organisations and projects.
  •  Provide training in leadership, management and financial skills.
  •  Provide training in home-based care, HIV prevention and income-generating skills.
  •  Increase the scale of existing programmes.
  •  Establish new programmes in poorly-resourced areas.
  •  Facilitate the sharing of best practice models for prevention and care.
  •  Provide ‘care for the carers’ programmes. Caregivers need to also be looked as their jobs are very stressful.
  •  Lobby for access to treatment, children’s issues and budget reform.
  •  Network and collaborate with other NPOs and government initiatives to strengthen the impact of the local response to HIV and AIDS.


The SACBC HIV and AIDS programme is also active in Botswana and Swaziland.