African health promotion and care services have been pushing forward with innovative new resources and programmes to rectify the situation.
Blackliners, one of the largest London-based African HIV support organisations,
has recently received a big injection of Department of Health cash to
help it maintain HIV services for the African and black communities. The
major drug companies are also investing in these initiatives, proving
their commitment to global aid concerns.
One such resource benefiting from the combined efforts of government and
drug company investment, despite early teething problems, is the national
African Aids Helpline.
This multilingual national freefone number was launched in December 2000,
funded
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solely by the Department of Health. It is staffed entirely by African
men and women, who receive full training and 'whose HIV status is unknown'.
Each worker speaks English and at least one other language.
The African Aids Helpline was, in fact, set up as a pilot scheme to run
for a year. Two years on, the Department of Health is still funding it
- despite a somewhat disastrous initial call-up response.
The helpline's home is in Manchester's Black Health Agency, which manages
the service. "We're very happy it's still running," says helpline
co-ordinator Syson Namaganda (right). "Like the Department of Health,
we anticipated the thousands of calls the
National Aids Helpline receives. But at first it only brought in a minimum of
