AFRO-NETS> South African AIDS Helpline Receives 20,000 Calls Each Month

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

South African AIDS Helpline Receives 20,000 Calls Each Month
------------------------------------------------------------

August 22, 2001:

Two African nations struggling to cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic 
have launched telephone hotline systems to provide the most up-to-
date and accurate information about the disease. South Africans now 
have access to one of the world's modern telephone hotline systems 
with a team of 68 specially trained counselors working around the 
clock to provide information and counseling at no cost in 11 differ-
ent languages. And on Tuesday, Nigeria officially launched its first 
24-hour toll-free hotline dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention, treat-
ment, and services. Callers can find out about how the virus is 
transmitted, where to get tested, and how effective condoms are in 
preventing HIV/AIDS. 

Both countries sought technical assistance from The Johns Hopkins 
University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP), with the sup-
port of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in 
setting up the hotlines. The Academy for Educational Development also 
played a key role by training counselors for both hotlines. 

South Africa has an estimated 4.7 million people infected with the 
HIV virus and has more people living with AIDS than any other country 
in the world. Because of the rapid spread of the virus, officials 
recognized the crucial need for a centralized and streamlined way to 
deliver current and accurate AIDS information and plans were made to 
upgrade the existing AIDS Helpline. Call volume now averages about 
20,000 calls a month with most callers seeking information about 
HIV/AIDS testing, disease transmission, and condoms. 

The new system was made possible through a successful partnership be-
tween the South African government, a local non-governmental organi-
zation known as LifeLine, and JHU/CCP. At a national event on July 30 
in Johannesburg, South Africa's Minister of Health, Dr. Manto Tsha-
balala-Msimang, launched the updated toll-free hotline, which is ca-
pable of handling up to 200,000 calls each month. President Thabo 
Mbeki's personal advisor on HIV/AIDS, members of Parliament, and 
other government officials also attended the launch. 

Most of the calls to the South African hotline come from young 
adults, who are most at risk for contracting the AIDS virus. Accord-
ing to Pamilla Mudhray, manager for the AIDS Helpline, 39 percent of 
the callers are 15 to 19 and 45 percent are 20 to 29. Men are also 
more likely to call than women; 60 percent of the callers are male. 
The South Africa AIDS Helpline phone number is +27-11-0800-012-322. 

Nigeria has 2.6 million people infected with HIV, most of them be-
tween the ages of 15 and 24. More than 1,500 Nigerians are infected 
each day with HIV. In Lagos on Tuesday, August 21, the Honorable Min-
ister of State for Health, Dr. Amina Ndalolo, officially launched the 
youth HIV/AIDS hotline with Lagos government officials in attendance. 

While the Nigeria hotline targets young adults, most of the callers 
so far (69 percent) have been older than 24 years, according to 
Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, Executive Secretary of the hotline. The older 
callers illustrate the crucial need for a credible source of informa-
tion on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, Akin-Jimoh said. The Nigeria hotline can 
be reached at +234-01-772-2200 or +234-01-773-2201 and was made pos-
sible through a partnership of the Lagos State HIV/AIDS Foundation, 
JHU/CCP, and the Youth Empowerment Foundation, a local non-
governmental organization.

JHU/CCP is a pioneer in the field of strategic, research-based commu-
nication for behavior change and health promotion that has helped 
transform the theory and practice of public health. With representa-
tives in more than 30 countries, JHU/CCP has been a leader in the de-
velopment of projects based on systematic needs assessments and clear 
strategies for positioning and presenting the benefits of health in-
terventions to appropriate audiences. 

For more information, contact 

Kim Martin
Tel: +1-410-659-6140 
To find out more about JHU/CCP, go to 
http://www.jhuccp.org


--
Cecilia Snyder ~ Managing Editor 
mailto:csnyder@ccmc.org
http://www.PLANetWIRE.org


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