This study describes the work of the Choose to Care initiative of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa. It shows that effective scaling up of programmes in the response to HIV, and work towards making Universal Access a reality, does not necessarily have to be the expansion of a single central service. Through the Choose to Care initiative the Church scaled up service provision by the replication of smaller scale programmes rooted in and responsive to their immediate communities’ needs. The study shows that such an approach is effective when undertaken within common guidelines and given central support.
