Trucking against Aids
22 August 2003
A national programme for the prevention of HIV/Aids in the road freight industry has been launched, with the government and the industry aiming to slow the HIV/Aids infection rate among truck drivers by 20% by October 2004.
The launch was the culmination of a pilot project pioneered by the health department, the National Bargaining Council and the Road Freight Association which saw six roadside clinics set up on major truck routes around the country: near Beaufort West in the Western Cape, Harrismith en route to Durban, Beitbridge on the border between SA and Zimbabwe, Ventersburg in the Free State, the Tugela Toll Plaza in KwaZulu-Natal, and on the Port Elizabeth N2 route in the Eastern Cape.
Staff at each roadside clinic - a qualified nurse, a health educator and about 10 trained peer educators - provide truck drivers and their partners with after-hours primary healthcare, condom distribution, and education and treatment on HIV/Aids,
tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases.
There are about 55 000 freight truck drivers in the country, and truck stops are high transmission areas, largely because of the prevalence of commercial sex workers at these stops.
The strategy aims to integrate all HIV-Aids programmes in the road freight industry and to establish a network of providers of affordable medical treatment and behavioural change programmes.
Toyota Trucks SA has helped train 20 peer counsellors and will assist with voluntary HIV counselling and testing, while Mercedes Benz SA has donated a utility vehicle equipped as a mobile clinic to the Road Freight Association for use at hotspots.
The National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight Industry is concentrating on educating and training the truck drivers, focusing on helping them lead a healthy lifestyle and stick to a proper diet during trips.
Source: BuaNews
| 
