Transport Against HIV/AIDS : Synthesis of Experience and Best Practice Guidelines
The transport sector is especially vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Transport workers including long distance truck drivers, seafarers, airline crews and infrastructure construction workers spend long periods of time away from home, often endure harsh worki...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2009/01/11415652/transport-against-hivaids-synthesis-experience-best-practice-guidelines http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17461 |
| Summary: | The transport sector is especially
vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Transport workers including long
distance truck drivers, seafarers, airline crews and
infrastructure construction workers spend long periods of
time away from home, often endure harsh working conditions,
and may engage in unsafe behavior that can lead to
infection. Their mobility makes it difficult to access
health information and treatment, or to maintain drug
regimen. Transport hubs and construction sites are often
considered hot spots due to the influx and interaction that
take place among the mobile workers. Furthermore, the sector
works as a vector for HIV spread as the opening of new roads
connects low and high prevalence areas. The World Bank
transport group has been proactively mainstreaming HIV
response by assisting client governments to design and
implement sector-level interventions. Programs are most
developed in the highest prevalence areas, initially in
Sub-Sahara Africa and now also in Asia. Support to the
sector includes organizing training events to increase staff
awareness and knowledge, providing access to research
materials, and securing funds to develop or scale up
intervention programs. To institutionalize the response,
explicit provisions for HIV prevention have been embedded in
the standard bidding document. The group also collaborates
with local workers organizations with the help of
International Transport Workers Federation and the
International Labor Organization. Some lessons learned are:
(i) strategies must be crafted to meet the specific needs of
the country in accordance with the local culture and unique
epidemic situations; (ii) coordination with the health
sector and the national AIDS authority is necessary for
effective program design; and (iii) involving stakeholders
from local communities is key to program success. |
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