The scale of services offered bears special mention. The national AIDS Helpline, for example, is supported by a staff of 60 who between them are able to provide information in all 11 official languages to over 30,000 callers each month.

These helplines provide a vital point of access to information and are considered a significant national resource in the response to HIV/AIDS.

Helplines provide important opportunities for research including ready access to trends in relation to caller concerns – for example predominance of calls are around transmission, testing, prevention or care issues.

Myths and contemporary concerns can also be tracked on a regular basis. Calls can be analysed to obtain a sense of the types of questions and knowledge that is sought. What are the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) ? Do they change from place to place ? This can become a valuable second generation surveillance system.