 K A W I
254-02-726083
The
National AIDS Hotline is manned by volunteers and funded by well-wishers.
Since inception, the number has been accessed by people from as far afield as
Kenya's North Eastern Province. KAWI hopes to be able to cope with the high
demand for this service and asks for support to:
 |
Maintain this essential service, now provided 12 hours a day.
|
|
|
Extend it to operate 24 hours a day.
|
|
|
Install additional hotlines to cope with the demand.
|
For
offers, contact KAWI at the contacts below the page.
|
NATIONAL AIDS HOTLINE LAUNCHED BY KAWI
The Kenya Aids Watch Institute
(KAWI) launched a National Aids Hotline to give information to individuals
and organizations on issues related to the disease.
Prof Thairu, a KAWI director, gave the hotline number as 726083 Nairobi and
appealed to Telkom Kenya to provide a toll-free telephone line so that those
who cannot afford telephone charges can benefit from the hotline service.
The service, which is nationwide and manned for 12 hours each day by
experienced staff, took effect from September 1, 2001. KAWI has plans to
graduate the service to a 24-hour facility.
The AIDS hotline is used as a tool to disseminate information on how to deal
with various situations related to the disease to organizations and anyone
who requires urgent assistance and guidance.
The need to set up such a service arose from the numerous inquiries from a
cross-section of Kenyans in need of information on the issue of HIV/Aids.
Speaking to members of the press at the launch, Prof. Thairu said that the
magnitude and impact of the disease in Kenya is a major public health and
economic problem.
“The problem of Aids continues to create a severe negative socio-economic
impact that has had disastrous consequences on our development agenda” he
explained.
The government cannot fight the scourge alone. Therefore, organizations,
students, the media, donors and the rest have been called upon to pool their
resources to tackle the problem, hoping that with the additional help of the
hotline, the objective will be achieved.
Amongst KAWI’s main objective is to work with the community at all levels to
break communication and cultural barriers against the war on Aids and called
upon counselors and experts from all fields to join them and volunteer
services so that initiative can serve all.
(From the People Daily, The Daily Nation, The East Arican Standard, on Thursday, August 16, 2001.
The article also featured in the news editions of both KBC and KTN.)
|
|
VOLUNTARY
COUNSELLING AND TESTING CENTRES.
|
|
Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centres were
launched by the Government to help the public get expert attention
with regard to their HIV status. The counsellors will listen and share
information on how to stay HIV negative. They will also
give guidance on how to take care between one and one's partner if one has
HIV. At a VCT Centre, one can talk with an expert and decide when one wants
to take an HIV test.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Why should you get tested?
- Who should get tested?
- When should you get tested?
- How do you get tested?
- Who sees the result?
- How can you help stop the spread
of HIV?
- Two good reasons to get an HIV
test:
If positive?
If negative?
The counsellors at VCT Centres
are adequately trained to answer these questions and many more. It is your
decision, but they help you along the way, because HIV/AIDS is no longer a
personal issue. It is a national talk-point.
Being certain that you do not
carry HIV will go a long way to helping you take precautionary care to ensure
you remain negative.
HIV-positive people are also helped
to live positively with the virus and to prevent them from spreading it
to others.
In
Kenya, there are VCT Centres in every corner of the country. So those with
queries are sure to get adequate answers wherever they may be. These centres go a long way to addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS in
the layman's
language, making the information on the topic user-friendly and relevant to
the populace.
|
|