Long distance drivers & HIV AIDS Awareness

At Safedrive Africa Foundation we address and defending rights, breaking barriers in transportation industry and reaching long distance truck drivers with road safety education awareness through HIV program by working with our partners and stakeholders.

SDAF aim to raise awareness and sensitize long distance, commercial drivers, girls and women in transport on the modes of transmission, and prevention the HIV/AIDS related illnesses through SDAF health and safety program in order to reduce the spread of the disease in transportation. SDAF also provides onsite breakfast meetings for long distance drivers, sensitization workshops, counselling, support for the HIV/AIDs in order to reintegrate them with the society by reducing trauma on roadway that may cause accidents.

There are many lifestyle factors that can make long distance truck drivers vulnerable while on transit. Of the ways in which HIV can be transmitted, heterosexual sex is the prevalent channel as regards long distance truck drivers. In addition, complex combinations of biological, social, cultural and economic factors determine the susceptibility of long-distance truck drivers to HIV. This vulnerability stems from several known or hypothesised HIV-risk factors that converge around the nature of transport drivers’ work:

• Long distance truck drivers are mobile or migratory; the social structures that constrain sexual behavior in stable communities may not apply
• Cash income, irregular working hours and spend away from home mean that long distance truck drivers have disposable income and leisure time (when not driving), factors that favor the consumption of alcohol and casual sex; the corollary is that sex workers and low-income women are drawn to trading hubs precisely because of the opportunities to sell food, alcohol or sex
• Alcohol and other drugs are widely used by long distance truck drivers to help cope with boredom and stress involving them to drive impaired which may cause road accidents.
• Long distance truck drivers are vulnerable to HIV due to limited prevention, treatment and mitigation measures as well as low health-seeking behavior
• The nature of the profession makes it full of risks when driving; long distance truck drivers spend most of their time travelling along dangerous and remote highways, and experience exhaustion, health problems, road accidents, attacks and mechanical problems with their vehicles

Sexual behavior of long-distance truck drivers In East Africa: long distance truck drivers are identified as having HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) very early on in the HIV epidemic. The relatively large number of unprotected sexual and low availability of condoms indicates inadequate prevention programming and unacceptably low risk perception among high-risk groups. Behaviors among truck drivers operating along major transport corridors in Kenya include high rates of multiple sexual partnerships, low consistent condom use and delayed STI treatment-seeking behaviors.

SDAF Behavior change program is our focus on four important areas: sexual health-seeking behavior, condom use, number of partners and alcohol use for long distance drivers. Though all four areas must be addressed, in a setting in which commercial sex is one of the mainstays of the economy and social life, interventions may need to focus more on condom use than reducing the number of partners during their journey.

SDAF Behavior change program for long distance and truck drivers:

• Target specific risk behaviors among truck and long-distance drivers
• Promote consistent condom use with casual and regular partners and encourage treatment seeking behavior, including completing STI treatment regimens
• Tackle fatalism by promoting behind the wheel positive behavior change while on transit, reduce road traumas on roadways, improving health, safety and discouraging HIV-risk behaviours that can contribute to traffic accidents.
• Provide and encourage alternative entertainment options other than drink driving alcohol, drug use at hot spots and trading centers that may cause impaired driving and unprotected sex resulting to fatal crashes.
• Set up ‘sex worker-friendly’ environment and ‘long distance truck driver-friendly’ health services providing access to integrated services, paying attention to location and the preferences of long-distance truck drivers and sex workers regarding service.

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