INFO SIDA - Burkina Faso

As part of this telephone service, operators listen, inform, support, and refer callers who need assistance regarding HIV/AIDS and related issues. The service operates Monday through Friday from 7h00 to 12h30 and from 15h00 to 18h00. After hours there is an answering machine for callers to leave messages; however, according to organisers, it appears that many callers do not understand how the machine works and therefore do not leave a message. The service is free only to people in Ouagadougou because it is a 4-digit number. (Outside the city the exchange changes to 6 digits and can therefore no longer be tollfree).

The service is offered in 3 languages - French and 2 other local languages - and all the counselors are multilingual. Confidentiality is ensured because the caller does not have to give their name. In most cases, the calls are information related and for referrals; however there are some counseling calls, which are usually handled by the co-ordinator since she is a more experienced counselor than the volunteers.

The telephone system for the hotline is one incoming line and a telephone. There is a separate line for the office phone and fax. Counselors are required to record the number of calls, the questions asked, and whether the caller was a woman, a man, or a young person. This information it totaled daily by the co-ordinator. Other information pertaining to the caller such as age and language is not recorded. The information that is recorded is passed on to local AIDS organisations since it is useful to know what, in particular, people need or want to know about HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS.

According to organisers, "Burkina Faso's official statistics indicate that the country has an AIDS prevalence rate of 7%. The National AIDS Committee believes that the figure is closer to 12%, and growing. The need for ongoing HIV/AIDS education and awareness is crucial to ensure that this situation does not deteriorate. The stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV in Burkina Faso is a reality with many distressing consequences such as homelessness, domestic violence and an increasing number of HIV positive orphans."

In this context, organisers identified the need for an anonymous and confidential HIV/AIDS service. A hotline was seen as one way of encouraging people to talk and to find out more about HIV/AIDS.

As an organisation, AFAFSI's objectives are to inform women about AIDS, to educate women about AIDS prevention, to develop programmes that will fight the epidemic, and to encourage people to take action against AIDS.