Government targets transport sector in new HIV fight
Truck drivers have for long been considered high-risk persons in HIV/Aids fight. PHOTO BY AGENCIES
The government has launched a new HIV/Aids campaign targeting the transport corridors. Through a partnership with the Ministry of Works and Transport and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the effort is to curb the re-surging HIV prevalence that has gripped the world two decades ago.
The focus is borne of the view that drivers, especially, long distance ones, are at a high risk of acquiring the virus because of the nature of their work. It is believed most drivers on long distance assignments meet many people and tend to have multiple partners.
“Mobile populations frequenting long distance transport corridors are at a high risk of exposure to HIV due to the nature of their work,” Dr Bernadette Ssebadduka, the IOM migration health officer, said yesterday in a press statement.
“Separation from family, availability of cheap sex, limited access to HIV/Aids information and services and availability of disposable income are all compounding factors,” she added.
Reviving waning battle
The Ministry of Finance says HIV prevalence in the transport sector stands higher than the national average at 7 per cent. Having been internationally recognised for its effort in the fight against HIV/Aids in the 1990s, which saw a reduction in the HIV prevalence from 18 per cent to 6 per cent in 2006, the highly acclaimed efforts of Uganda have now dwindled, with the current threat of increased number of new infections driving the country’s prevalence up to 6.4 per cent.
However, Transport minister Abraham Byandaala is optimistic. He said: “Implementing HIV/Aids policy under works and transport sector is one of several responses which we are confident will address the challenges of the epidemic.”
About one in every 100 adults worldwide between the age of 15 to 49 is HIV-infected with an estimated 1.2 million people in Uganda living with the virus.
