Situational Analyses of the Aids Hotline

INFO SIDA 11-20 is an Aids hotline based in Association des Femmes Africaines Face au Sida (AFAFSI's) office in Ouagadougou. It was the first hotline to be established in Burkina Faso. It is a toll-free number with a single telephone line that caters for the Ouagadougou population. Volunteers manage the service. The service operates five days a week, Monday to Friday, from 7h00 to 12h30 and from 15h00 to 18h00.

The service is free only to people in Ouagadougou because it is a four-digit number. Outside of the city the exchange changes to six digits and can therefore no longer be toll free. There is another hotline, not toll free, in the nearby town of Bobo, approximately five hours drive away, however to date the two hotlines have not worked together.

Santé Familiale et Prévention du SIDA (SFPS)invited a hotline expert from South Africa to assess how they can best assist and support AFAFSI's hotline. A situational analysis of the hotline was done by interviewing the AFAFSI hotline staff and meeting with auxiliary services to explore how and if they can support the hotline. The recommendations offered in this report aimed to assist SFPS and AFAFSI with ways in which to improve and expand the hotline.

"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 to12%, 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."

To read the whole evaluation click here

Source: Family Health and AIDS Website