Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Mister Wong
Bookmarks.cc
Digg
Del.icio.us
Slashdot
Netscape
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Googlize this
Blinklist
Facebook
Wikio
Diggita
Hear this text
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Tags
Mapping healthcare for African truckers
Inefficiencies along Africa’s all-important road transport routes, with downtime at border crossings often accounting for more than 50% of journey duration, are one of the major root causes of health risks such as the spread of HIV/Aids and tuberculosis. A major private sector initiative, however, has been launched recently to help alleviate the negative impact of these health hazards on workers in the transport sector and the communities with whom they come into contact; while there remains much to be done by governments throughout the continent.
A transport sector report on HIV-prevention needs of migrants and mobile populations in southern Africa, released recently by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), highlights the risks associated with long delays at border crossings.
The report, prepared by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), reveals by way of example that “the journey from Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Johannesburg… takes on average 15-20 days for general cargo, with 10-15 days downtime at the border crossings.”
The report states that in southern Africa, much of the freight which moves between north and south, between east and west, is by road because it is a more flexible mode, more reliable and generally cheaper per tonne/kilometre.
“However, due to various infrastructural challenges and/or delays experienced at border crossings, the work of transporting goods… is neither an easy nor a fast one. Thus many truck stops or ‘hot spots’ have sprung up along the routes and borders to cater for long-distance truck drivers and others travelling along transport corridors.”
One of the results of this situation highlighted by the report is that “with limited facilities at these ‘hot spots’, truck drivers often look for women who can offer them comfort, food and a place to wash.”
Thousands of truck drivers in Africa, however, now have a new navigation tool to help them easily find healthcare centres along the subcontinent’s major transport corridors. In a unique partnership between Shell, Maplecroft and North Star Alliance, four maps have been published – showing the exact locations of more than 160 roadside wellness centres in West, East and southern Africa. All the maps are in English, with the West African map also available in French.
Some of the services provided by the wellness centres include sexual health education and counselling, HIV/Aids testing, blood pressure testing, TB screening, treatment of minor infections and wounds, and the distribution of free condoms.
“For the first time, truckers can see where they can access health services along major trucking corridors and transport hubs on the subcontinent,” says Paul Matthew, director: Africa for North Star Alliance. “Our ultimate goal is to get these maps into the hands of all truck drivers in Africa.”
The maps, produced by Maplecroft, are funded by Shell. “This joint initiative provides truck drivers with the latest information on where to find roadside wellness centres on the subcontinent,” says George Wandera, downstream road safety co-ordinator: Africa.
Shell is co-ordinating distribution of the maps to its road transport managers in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. The maps will be distributed also through the national road transport associations of these countries, and to Shell’s contracted haulier partners, as well as Shell Driving Schools and Shell depots.
North Star Alliance is distributing the maps also to drivers who visit their roadside wellness centres, and to other roadside clinic networks in sub-Saharan Africa. Occasionally, drivers have referred their spouses to nearby clinics.
Alyson Warhurst, chief executive officer of Maplecroft, said the company became involved in the project after conducting research on the link between the spread of HIV/Aids and truck drivers in Africa. “Drivers were getting ill with no effective support. Our experience in issue mapping allowed us to pinpoint the best locations for the wellness centres.”
North Star Alliance is a multinational, public-private partnership originally co-founded in 2006 by courier company TNT and the United Nations World Food Programme. Besides other similar facilities, North Star Alliance has established 12 data-linked roadside health clinics at major truck stops and border crossings in Africa. The clinics are housed in specially converted and equipped shipping containers.
Although this private sector initiative makes an important contribution to alleviate some of the effects of the health risks associated with the road transport sector in Africa, it is clear from the IOM report that much still needs to be done – particularly at the level of government – to deal with these health problems on a proper holistic basis.
The report, which mainly concentrates on the Southern African Development Community (SADC), among others recommends that more research should be conducted on the “various determinants of HIV in the transport sector.”
It further recommends that specific effort should be made by national authorities and employers to reach families of truck drivers in the places of origin. “Such efforts should also take into consideration issues related to stigma and discrimination.”
