The journal's primary purpose is to provide an open-access platform for the generation and dissemination of evidence from a wide range of HIV-related disciplines, encouraging research from low- and middle-income countries.

The journal strongly encourages submission of papers in the areas of implementation science and operational research, in particular from resource-limited settings.

This is to ensure that information on best practices and culturally relevant research findings reaches the broadest possible international audience and stakeholders.

JIAS also has a professional development programme and offers workshops at international conferences,[3][4][5][6] which cover not only scientific writing, but also other aspects of publishing.

These workshops, mainly attended by young researchers from resource-limited settings, are aimed at increasing the capacity of targeted delegates to publish their findings.