The Knysna AIDS Council, a non-governmental organisation established in 1994 to educate the Knysna community on HIV AIDS, has grown to meet the challenges posed by the epidemic. Its functions include providing counselling to AIDS sufferers and their families and information to the community as a whole.
The Knysna AIDS Council offers training in AIDS information and AIDS counselling, as well as training for lay counsellors and homebased care givers. To approach the issue in an holistic manner, the counsellors are training in nutrition, breastfeeding, bereavement counselling and crisis counselling.