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About BHIVA

BHIVA is the leading UK association representing professionals in HIV care. Since 1995, we have been committed to providing excellent care for people living with and affected by HIV. BHIVA is a national advisory body on all aspects of HIV care and we provide a national platform for HIV care issues. Our representatives contribute to international, national and local committees dealing with HIV care. In addition, we promote undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education within HIV care.
 

Objects of the Association

  • To relieve sickness and to protect and preserve health through the development and promotion of good practice in the testing and treatment of HIV and HIV-related illnesses and in such other charitable ways as the CIO, through its charity trustees, may from time to time decide.

  • To advance public and professional education in the subjects of HIV and the symptoms, causes, treatment and prevention of HIV-related illnesses through education and the promotion, conduct and dissemination of research and best practice through regional, national and international meetings, conferences, the BHIVA Research Awards programme and guidelines, and in such other charitable ways as the CIO, through its charity trustees, may from time to time decide.

  • To promote optimal outcomes for people living with, and affected by, HIV through the development and dissemination of national guidelines and standards, audit, research and in such other charitable ways as the CIO, through its charity trustees, may from time to time decide.

  • To support other organisations through activities including collaborative responses to consultations, media representation of HIV, workforce planning and, exceptionally, individual cases of stigma, discrimination or suboptimal care and in such other charitable ways as the CIO, through its charity trustees, may from time to time decide.


Powers of the Association

The CIO has power to do anything which is calculated to further its objects or is conducive or incidental to doing so. In particular, the CIO’s powers include power to:

(1) take over either directly or as trustee the property, rights, privileges and undertaking, and to discharge the liabilities, of the British HIV Association (registered charity no. 1056354) (the “Association”) and to give such indemnities in connection with the same as may properly and reasonably be required;

(2) borrow money and to charge the whole or any part of its property as security for the repayment of the money borrowed. The CIO must comply as appropriate with sections 124 and 125 of the Charities Act 2011 if it wishes to mortgage land;

(3) buy, take on lease or in exchange, hire or otherwise acquire any property and to maintain and equip it for use;

(4) sell, lease or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the property belonging to the CIO. In exercising this power, the CIO must comply as appropriate with sections 117 and 119–123 of the Charities Act 2011;

(5) employ and remunerate such staff as are necessary for carrying out the work of the CIO. The CIO may employ or remunerate a charity trustee only to the extent that it is permitted to do so by clause 6 (Benefits and payments to charity trustees and connected persons) and provided it complies with the conditions of those clauses;

(6) deposit or invest funds, employ a professional fund-manager, and arrange for the investments or other property of the CIO to be held in the name of a nominee, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as the trustees of a trust are permitted to do by the Trustee Act 2000;

(7) raise funds, but in such a way that the CIO does not undertake any substantial, permanent trading activity;

(8) disseminate the results of research through scientific meetings and through the official publications of the CIO;

(9) act as a national advisory body to professions and other organisations on all aspects of HIV care;

(10) provide a national platform for HIV care;

(11) provide representatives for international, national and local committees dealing with HIV care;

(12) promote undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education within HIV care;

(13) promote and monitor high standards of care through advisory groups and the development and distribution of guidelines;

(14) set achievable targets and indicators of care against which success can be measured through national audit and other governance measures;

(15) publish and promote material related to objects of the CIO;

(16) do all such other things as shall further the objects of the CIO.



Committees

Our Executive Committee oversees the work of the association, which is run by six subcommittees on Conferences; Audit and Standards; Education and Scientific; External Relations; Guidelines; and Hepatitis.
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Clinical guidelines

To help promote and monitor high standards of care, BHIVA publishes a range of clinical guidelines. These cover the treatment and management of HIV and associated co-morbidities including antiretroviral therapy in adults; management of pregnancy; treatment and management of viral hepatitis B and C and TB co-infection; management of HIV associated malignancy and opportunistic infections; immunisation; and the reproductive and sexual health of people with HIV. Guidelines are reviewed and updated on a regular basis and new guidelines produced.
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Conferences

BHIVA holds two conferences each year, our annual conference is held in the spring, and the BHIVA autumn conference is held in London. The venue for our annual conference rotates each year to try and give all members across the UK the best opportunity to attend. We actively encourage the presentation of UK research and abstracts are invited for the annual conference, which aims to showcase the finest contemporary research into HIV-related topics currently being undertaken in the UK. Both conferences are CPD-registered, and attract a broad spectrum of participants from experienced HIV specialists to those still in training, as well as inviting eminent international speakers to present state of the art data.
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National audit and clinical standards

The BHIVA Audit and Standards Subcommittee conducts an annual audit programme in order to set achievable targets and indicators of care. This involves more than 150 clinical centres throughout the UK. The programme audits clinical practice against BHIVA guidelines and makes recommendations for improvement.
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Education and research

BHIVA undertakes a range of activities to promote medical education in HIV care, which includes conference feedback meetings, training courses for the Diploma in HIV Medicine examination, web-based e-learning modules, international scholarships and exchanges and links with international organisations to increase the understanding of the treatment and management of HIV. BHIVA supports research in HIV care through its annual research awards scheme. HIV Medicine is the official journal of the association, and is published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. HIV Medicine is a peer-reviewed journal publishing original articles, reviews and guidelines on all aspects of HIV treatment and diagnosis.
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Hepatitis

The BHIVA Hepatitis Expert Advisory Group (formerly the BHIVA Hepatitis Society) promotes good clinical practice in the treatment and management of HIV-positive people co-infected with viral hepatitis and acts as a policy advisory group to BHIVA in relation to the clinical care of these patients. An annual conference is held in London and the group also provides expertise on guidelines relating to hepatitis.
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Membership

More than 700 members currently enjoy the benefits of BHIVA membership, which include: access to the BHIVA members’ area on the website, free subscription to the key journal HIV Medicine and the BHIVA Members Matters e-Newsletter and access to BHIVA Research Awards and other scholarships and bursaries.
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Notes on affiliation

BHIVA is affiliated with the BDA HIV Care Specialist Group, Chiva, the HIV Pharmacy Association (HIVPA), the HIV Trainee Association (HIVTA), the National HIV Nurses Association (NHIVNA), the Rehabilitation in HIV Association (RHIVA), the Society of Sexual Health Advisers (SSHA) and the UK Community Advisory Board (UK-CAB).

BHIVA has also developed important links with other relevant organisations, encouraging exchange of information between national and international centres, such as the International AIDS Society (IAS), the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).