NACP III. National AIDS Telephone Helpline

[Guest guest]

In NACP III what should be the role and scope of National AIDS

Telephone Helpline?

Comments are invited on the scope of National AIDS Telephone

Helpline during NACP III are invited. The following is the excerpts

from report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (2004)on

the NACO Performance Appraisals (3 of 2004). Any updates on the

situation of National AIDS Telephone Help line from the readers will

be appreciated. [Moderator]

NACO established an AIDS Hotline No. 1097 in October 1997 and

planned to make this facility available in all cities and big towns

of India. It was observed that till 2000-01, NACO had been releasing

grants to two NGOs (OSERD & TORCH) for providing this facility and,

released Rs. 29.89 lakh during 1998-99 to 2000-01. Since 2000-01,

the funding was decentralized to the respective States/Municipal

AIDS Control Societies. However, NACO had no information of

cities/towns covered by this facility.

A review of TORCH telephonic AIDS prevention Hotline was conducted

by Deepam Educational Society for Health (DESH) in January 1999 to

provide an in-depth integrated feedback, ascertain the

effectiveness, identify the problems and suggest methods for

improvement. Some of the important findings were:

• On an average 1200 callers were availing of this facility daily.

• While 4200 callers were seeking general information on HIV/AIDS

every month, about 1500 callers were seeking information on testing

services during a month.

• About 2400 callers per month were seeking information on symptoms

of HIV/AIDS.

• Number of callers referred for STD treatment and HIV testing was

not available. There was no system put in place to find out whether

people using the information provided on the hotline were going for

testing.

• Though the system worked consistently providing recorded

information round the clock with the option of leaving the queries

the callers had to wait for 72 hours to get a reply to their

queries.

• There was no male counsellor employed, although 95 per cent of the

callers were male.

• The number of female callers remained consistently low.

A test check of records of Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society

revealed that for providing a toll-free National AIDS Telephone

helpline in all districts to provide access to information and

counselling on HIV/AIDS related issues, the Society paid (April

2000) Rs. 22.61 lakh to a supplier for completion of supply and

installation of 15 computers with UPS at various centres for

computerised 4-digit number 1097, with a voice response system

linked with telephonic hotline.

Though the computers were stated to have been installed in the

centres, audit observed that none of these computers were

functioning in nine districts (including the six test-checked

districts) either for want of repairs or lack of trained operating

staff.

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Reference: Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India

(2004) Report of the CAG on the Union Government, Union Government

(Civil) Performance Appraisals (3 of 2004)

http://www.cagindia.org/reports/civil/2004_3/