African Stroke Organization (ASO)
Privacy Policy

Last updated on 25 May 2018

Introduction

Welcome to the African Stroke Organization (ASO) privacy notice.

ASO respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This notice explains how we handle your personal data when you use our website, engage in membership activities, register for events, submit proposals, or participate in any of our online platforms and services (“Activities”).

It also outlines your privacy rights and explains how the law protects you.

 

1. Important Information and Who We Are

Purpose of this Privacy Notice

This privacy notice provides details on how ASO collects and processes your personal data, including when you:

  • Sign up for newsletters

  • Register for membership

  • Participate in conferences, training, or workshops

  • Submit proposals or funding requests

Our website and services are not intended for children under 18 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

This notice supplements other privacy notices ASO may provide and is not intended to override them.

Controller

ASO is the controller and is responsible for your personal data (referred to as “ASO”, “we”, “us”, or “our” in this notice).

Changes to Your Data

It is important that the data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed of any changes by updating your profile or contacting us.

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to external websites, plug-ins, or applications. Clicking on these may allow others to collect your data. ASO is not responsible for external sites’ privacy policies and recommends reviewing them separately.

 

2. The Data We Collect About You

ASO may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data, such as:

  • Identity Data: Name, title, date of birth, gender.

  • Contact Data: Email, phone number, postal/institutional address.

  • Financial Data: Payment details for memberships, donations, and events.

  • Technical Data: IP address, browser type, login data, device information.

  • Profile Data: Username, password (encrypted), preferences, survey responses.

  • Usage Data: How you interact with our site and services.

  • Marketing & Communication Data: Preferences for newsletters, updates, or campaigns.

ASO also collects aggregated data (e.g., usage statistics). This cannot directly identify you unless combined with personal information.

ASO does not collect special categories of data such as race, religion, health details, or political opinions, nor do we collect criminal record data.

 

3. How We Collect Your Data

  • Direct Interactions: Forms, membership applications, event registrations, surveys, correspondence.

  • Automated Interactions: Cookies, technical tracking tools when browsing our site.

  • Third Parties: Service providers (e.g., payment processors, IT support, analytics providers).

 

4. How We Use Your Data

ASO uses your personal information to:

  • Manage memberships, donations, and events

  • Provide resources, training, and updates you request

  • Improve our website and services through analytics

  • Communicate relevant opportunities and announcements

  • Comply with legal obligations

  • Prevent fraud and ensure security

We only keep your personal data for as long as necessary to meet these purposes.

Opting Out

You may unsubscribe from communications at any time using the provided links or by updating your preferences. Please note, unsubscribing from communications may limit reminders regarding membership renewal or event updates.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve functionality and security. You may disable cookies in your browser, though this may affect website performance.

 

5. Disclosure of Your Personal Data

ASO does not sell your data. We may share it only:

  • With trusted third-party service providers under confidentiality agreements

  • With partners or institutions, when you give explicit consent (e.g., conference collaborations)

  • With authorities when required by law or for security reasons

 

6. International Data Transfers

ASO may transfer your personal data outside your country of residence (including outside Africa). Safeguards such as contractual protections are in place to ensure your data remains secure.

 

7. Data Security

We implement strong technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including:

  • Secure servers and encryption

  • Restricted access based on role

  • Staff training and regular audits

 

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, and in line with legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Generally, data is retained for up to 5 years, unless required longer by law.

In some cases, anonymized data may be kept for research or statistical purposes.

 

9. Your Legal Rights

You have the right to:

  • Request access to your data

  • Request correction of inaccurate data

  • Request the deletion of your data

  • Restrict or object to the processing of your data

  • Withdraw consent at any time

  • Request data transfer to another organization

We aim to respond to requests within 30 days. Verification of identity may be required.

 

10. Changes to This Privacy Notice

ASO reviews this policy periodically and may update it as needed. Any updates will be posted on this page with the effective date. We encourage you to review this notice regularly.