We started out as World AIDS Campaign (WAC) in 1997, to focus on raising public awareness on specific issues on the global AIDS response. This was achieved by working to support and strengthen campaigning on HIV accountability among diverse civil society constituencies worldwide.
WACI was also tasked to lead the planning and observance of the International World Aids Day. In 2004, we became an independent Non-Governmental Organization with a secretariat in the Netherlands.
In 2008, the organization undertook a strategic shift that led to the registration of World Aids Campaign International (WACI) in South Africa. Over the following (4) years, WACI would see a range of institutional and leadership transitions. From a global organization, founded and headquartered in Europe, working in various geographical regions, including: Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, to an organization that is today based and focused on Africa addressing not only HIV and TB but also broader issues in health.
The organization’s deliberate shift to focus on Africa was guided by the need to be more conscientious, more innovative and even more accountable and streamlined in our approaches as we continued to ensure that the organization maintained her pivotal role in the global AIDS response, while continually embracing and incorporating the broader health development agenda into her work.