HIV/AIDS Roadside Clinics for Truck Drivers

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has brought another safety challenge to truck drivers who are already suffering from the strain of working under hazardous conditions.

Thanks to the inevitable presence of sex workers who find ready clients in truck drivers, the health of these drivers, particularly, their fitness to be on the road for prolonged hours, has come increasingly under threat.

To respond to this alarming situation, government and non-governmental initiatives are being launched to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. These initiatives also aim to intervene directly through medication supplies to those truck drivers who are suffering from various forms of HIV related illnesses.

A non-governmental organization (NGO) known as Learning Clinic Pty (Ltd) has already launched six roadside clinics, two of which are in KwaZulu Natal, to target truck drivers and sex workers on the road. In an exclusive interview with Igalelo, the NGO’s counselor Mr Vusumuzi Makabane, who is based at the Tugela Toll Plaza Roadside Clinic, said: "We are reaching at least 30 people a day and distributing HIV/AIDS related information and condoms among truck drivers and sex workers day and night."

"We also have one nursing staff member who sees drivers who come for help if they have contracted sexually transmitted diseases," explained Makabane.

He added that there had already been a few cases of drivers coming out in the open with their HIV status.

Mr Makabane pointed out: "Often our nursing staff has had to deal with people who show symptoms of being potential carriers of the virus because diseases and illnesses thrive on a person who is already infected with HIV. But there have been cases where she has had to distribute medication which helps to boost the immune system of a person who is already living with the virus."

"The virus is a direct threat to safety on the road because it is possible for a driver to experience a blackout or lose consciousness whilst driving and hence cause an accident due to HIV related illnesses," Makabane warned.

The AIDS counselor and his nursing teammate go out on the road if there is no one coming to the clinic. Apparently drivers seldom walk into the clinic on their own unless they are sick. They are usually tired or hungry and prefer spending their time relaxing, cooking or with a female companion.

"Sex workers are more receptive to the HIV/AIDS message than their clients," Makabane observed.

The clinic is situated about three minutes away from the Tugela Toll Plaza where most of the interaction between truck drivers and sex workers takes place.

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