The National Aids Helpline (NAH) - running since 1986 - is another story
altogether.
Last year alone, it dealt with a staggering 150,000
calls - 400 each day. Mark McLean, NAH manager, says that calls have
remained similar in volume over the last few years. "But it is very
much driven by publicity. Like the African Helpline, we have experienced
a relationship between promotion and call volumes. Around World Aids Day
when our phone number is quoted in press stories, the calls increase noticeably.
"If someone rings up with their 'Africanness' and HIV as an issue,
then we will forward calls on to the African Aids Helpline. It depends
what the caller needs."
McLean continues: "Sixty per cent of our callers are men - which
is unusual for most helplines, but reflects the nature of the epidemic.
The majority are heterosexual. We are aimed at the general population,
while the THT aims more at gay men. Out of 1,400 calls assessed in a small
sample last year, only three per cent described themselves as African.
We don't notice a disproportionate number of calls from London than from
across the UK. We have noticed an increase in calls about sexually-transmitted
infections recently."
page 5 of 5
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African Aids Helpline: 0800 0967 500
National Aids Helpline: 0800 567 123
THT Helpline: 020 7242 1010
This article has been made possible by an unrestricted educational grant to Positive Nation from the Embrace Programme, which also funds other African HIV health promotion work in the UK.
