Apha Management Team

A co-founding member of APHA, Ntando has, over the past two decades, been working closely with affected communities to take ownership of the fight against HIV, related health issues, and their social effects.

As the Community Engagement Lead at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) and University of Cape Town Clinical Trials Unit (UCTCTU), he works closely with various national and international research networks to develop and implement education programs and ensure community involvement in HIV prevention and related trials in some of South Africa's most marginalized communities.

In 2013, he was an AVAC fellow focused on HIV Prevention Research, exploring opportunities to develop strategies for broad stakeholder engagement in clinical trials across South Africa. His fellowship focused on operationalizing the Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Guidelines by establishing a national forum that brings together community stakeholders, advocacy groups, and civil society.

Ntando has contributed and continues to contribute in the HIV field and its intersections through various leadership roles, including but not limited to being a Community Working Group (CWG) Chair with the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), former Chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) Men’s Sector, current second deputy chairperson of the SANAC Research Sector, and community committee member in conferences like CROI, HIV R4P, and ICASA. He has been instrumental in establishing the Vaccine Advocacy Resource Group (VARG) and Africa Free of New HIV Infections (AfNHi), a globally collaborative, African-led HIV and Health advocacy initiative for the research and development process.

A community engagement practitioner at heart, Ntando believes that communities are not passive recipients of research, services or policy, but its rightful architects. His work is guided by a simple conviction: those most affected by an epidemic should hold real power in shaping the science, programmes and decisions meant to serve them.