The Peer-2-Peer Youth Sexual Health and HIV Hotline

0800 22 11 1-2-1
call free from any landline in Kenya

Who runs the One-2-One Youth Hotline?

One-2-One is run by a Kenyan NGO based in Nairobi called Liverpool VCT, Care and Treatment (LVCT). We are the leaders in the field of VCT service provision in Kenya and have lots of experience providing counselling, HIV testing, care and treatment services throughout the country.

What is One-2-One?

One-2-One is a unique sexual health and HIV hotline for youth in Kenya. The service is peer based and staffed by well trained and supervised youth counsellors. One-2-One is completely confidential - we don’t ask for any identifying information - and is free when called from a landline.

Is One-2-One really confidential?

Yes! One-2-One is confidential and anonymous. We won’t ask your name and we don’t record the number you use to call. We only ask callers questions that help us improve our service, such as how old you are, how you found out about One-2-One and the area you are calling from. But none of this information can identify you and you are free not to answer if you don’t want to.

Can I call from my mobile phone?

At the moment, it is not possible to call One-2-One from a mobile but we are hoping to launch One-2-One on mobile really soon.

When is One-2-One open?

The hotline is open from 10am-6pm Monday to Friday and 10am-3pm on Saturdays. If you call at any other time you can leave a voice message with a number (even a mobile number) and we’ll call you back during opening hours.

Who calls One-2-One?

One-2-One welcomes all calls from anyone with a question or a problem although the service was established to deal with youth sexual health issues.
Since One-2-One started in June 2006, we have been receiving about 30 calls a week, though this number is steadily increasing. Most of the calls are from young males (approximately 80%) aged between 22 and 25 years, although the service is marketed to both males and females equally. As a result of the call data we have collected so far, we’re refocusing our marketing approach to try to increase female utilization of the service.  

What kind of questions or problems do people call with?

Most of the calls we deal with are about relationship issues (32.8%) followed by questions about HIV (7.5%), VCT (5.4%) and STIs (4.8%). The range of calls is very wide and we frequently deal with questions about sexual orientation, masturbation, drug use, pregnancy and a variety of youth related issues. Every caller, regardless of the issue with which they call, is offered information on condom use, VCT (HIV testing) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission, symptoms and treatment.

How do you let people know about One-2-One?

We use a variety of methods to inform people about One-2-One. In the first three months of operation, we distributed 2,000 posters to schools, businesses and in public spaces in Nairobi (download the One-2-One poster here) as well as 5,000 business cards at youth events during the same period. From September 2006 we will be advertising in Insyder Magazine (a publication with broad distribution to youth in Kenya) as well as having a ‘problem page’ in it. Our marketing efforts so far have been focused in Nairobi, are on going and will soon be rolled out nationally.

Who supports One-2-One?

One-2-One is supported by The Elton John AIDS Foundation and The Ford Foundation.

If I have a question can I email instead of calling?