MARCH HIV ISSUE 1-16


THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN JOURNAL OF HIV MEDICINE                                            MARCH 2005  55

Even after five years of intensive activity by the Society, and
an increase of membership from 300 to 8 600 health care
professionals, I am still frequently asked what it means to be
a member of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society.  Well,
apart from the camaraderie of the executive committee and
members, engendered by a collective effort to provide
appropriate diagnosis and treatment to southern Africa’s HIV-
infected and affected, the obvious advantages are:

Quarterly publications:
• The Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine
• Transcript (newsletter containing regional and country

branch meeting information and the latest
antiretroviral (ARV) drug prices)

• Website*: Society structure; executive committee
information; latest HIV/AIDS news; locally produced
guidelines; up-to-date private sector ARV prices; back
issues of journals, and branch meeting information.

Courses:
Courses are provided in collaboration with other
organisations, e.g. the Foundation for Professional Deve- 
lopment (FPD):
• HIV Management Course (3-day course)
• Refresher Course (1-day course for alumni of the HIV

Management Course).
Courses are aimed at providing training for health care
professionals at different levels of interest, the end-point
of which would be to sit the Diploma of HIV
Management, run bi-annually for the last 3 years by the
Colleges of Medicine of South Africa and held in various
centres throughout South Africa and selected cities in
other countries.  Examinations are set and marked by the
Society Executive Committee (EXCO).
Access to not-for-profit priced antiretrovirals:
Through agreements with pharmaceutical companies,
paid-up members of the Society may enroll on access

programmes, e.g. Glaxo SmithKline’s Global Access
Programme.
Guidelines:
Locally produced guidelines on a large variety of HIV/AIDS
diagnostic, treatment and care topics are compiled by
specialist guidelines committees.  They are published in
the Journal and updated on an on-going basis.  This issue
of the journal contains updated Adult ART Guidelines.
Current guidelines are in the process of being loaded onto
the website.  
Consultancy:
A daytime consultancy service for doctors needing
specialist advice on difficult cases is provided (currently
as a free service) by highly experienced members of the
Society. 
Advocacy:
The EXCO takes up advocacy issues on the Society’s
behalf, for example access to treatment, post-exposure
prophylaxis (occupational and sexual assault) and other
topics, to try to improve the rendering of adequate and
appropriate HIV/AIDS medical services in southern Africa.
This is aimed at making medical HIV/AIDS care a more
rewarding experience.
Networking:
The Society’s database (of 8 600 members) provides an
efficient networking and referral tool.  Health care
professionals who need to refer patients to doctors in
their towns/centres ring the Society offices and are
provided with lists of four to five doctors who have
completed an HIV management course, together with
their contact details. 

Recently the Society concluded a three-year Memorandum of
Understanding with the International Association of
Physicians in Aids Care (IAPAC) in which the two organisations
broadly agreed to collaborate in the areas of expanding
medical education; advocacy; and the development of
appropriate training materials based on SAHCS guidelines.
Included in this co-operation is an agreement that the Society
will distribute JIAPAC (IAPAC’s quarterly journal) together with
the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine every quarter.
Another reason to belong!

DES MARTIN
Editor, Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine
President, Southern African HIV Clinicians Society

F R O M T H E
E D I T O R

If you are not receiving full services from the Society, please
make sure that you have provided the Database Manager with
your current contact details by e-mailing Mr Pat Solan at:
patsolan@global.co.za.

*  Please note: Although the Society’s upgraded and fully
functional website is available to members with access to the
web, members who wish to continue to receive journals in hard
copy, by post, will do so.  Members who wish to receive
Transcript via e-mail or post please send an e-mail to
sahivsoc@sahivsoc.org or ring Ms Samantha Klusener at:
(011) 453-5066 or fax a note to: (011) 453- 5059.

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