Article: USAID Helps South Africa Modernize HIV/AIDS Helpline

03 August 2001

Article: USAID Helps South Africa Modernize HIV/AIDS Helpline

Helpline operates 24 hours a day for those in need

Washington -- A modernized national HIV/AIDS Helpline, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), was launched July 31 by South Africa's minister of health, Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. USAID, the U.S. government agency that provides development and humanitarian assistance worldwide, is spending $9.4 million on HIV/AIDS programs in South Africa this fiscal year.

The lifeline offers toll-free help 24 hours a day by specially trained counselors using state-of-the art telecommunications equipment. Every South African language is spoken and caller-friendly information is provided for HIV/AIDS-related questions by one of 68 counselors, who are able to access the most current data available through the computerized call center.

Initiated by the National Department of Health 10 years ago, the AIDS Helpline was operated manually until recently by volunteers from LifeLine, a non-governmental organization. But the catastrophic spread of HIV/AIDS and the stigmas and misconceptions about the epidemic prompted the need to expand the Helpline so more calls could be taken without delay.

USAID support of $300 000 brought in professional technology and training so the Helpline could provide immediate and dedicated service to South Africans countrywide. LifeLine counselors continue to conduct Helpline counseling, carrying out the Helpline's mission of saving lives.

Calls have skyrocketed to 20,000 per month now, from only 5,000 per month in 1998. The Helpline can handle up to 200,000 calls a month, national AIDS Helpline Manager Pamilla Mudhray explained in a July 31 USAID press release on the project. "The call center technology helps us to reach more people and gather data more efficiently from callers, and we guarantee confidentiality," she said.

More men than women call the HIV/AIDS Helpline, the release notes. Those at highest risk in the country make the most calls -- youth and young sexually active adults. Mudhray said 39 percent of the callers are 15 to 19 years old, and 45 percent of the callers are 20 to 29 years old. "Young people want to know about transmission and how their own behavior puts them at risk for HIV/AIDS," she added.

The Helpline is able to create awareness of personal risk and remove the stigma of talking about sex, death, and disease. "All callers need emotional support. We're not doctors; we're lay counselors. We care and make callers feel accepted. Callers are then able to move on to personal issues because they feel safe," Mudhray said. Callers talk about their fears and feelings, she said, and counselors provide facts and compassion without judgement.

Counselors occasionally receive calls from people feeling suicidal after learning their HIV status and confronting the consequences of being terminally ill. Often they talk to callers who are traumatized and misinformed about HIV/AIDS prevention and care. But because they receive continual training, they are equipped with emotional coping skills that enable them to offer information, counseling, and referrals. And because many community members are poor and illiterate, the Helpline's free service offers suitable one-on-one counseling that cannot be achieved with written information.

Peak call hours are between 07h30 and 17h30, though the Helpline is open around the clock. "There is a direct link between rates of calls and what media are reporting about HIV/AIDS," Mudhray said.

The AIDS Helpline number in South Africa is 0800-012-322.