The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in conjunction with the World Food Programme (WFP), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), North Star Foundation (NSF) and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), organized a Regional Workshop on HIV in the Road Transport Sector for Southern Africa on 26-28 September, 2007 in Piggs Peak, Swaziland. The workshop’s specific objectives were outlined as follows:
- To share lessons learned of HIV responses in the road transport sector in southern Africa, which would allow the identification and agreement upon;
- To facilitate networking and increased coordination among partners and stakeholders working in the road transport sector in selected countries, and among different agencies implementing HIV initiatives in the road transport sector, to avoid duplication and to strengthen and upscale responses; and
- To outline a way forward (“Roadmap”) for future interventions and activities. Participants came from the SADC secretariat, SADC governments, the private sector, the donor community, international organizations, civil society, and research institutions (see Annex 2).
The wealth of this multi-national and multi-sectoral diversity encouraged extensive sharing of lessons and based on these lessons it facilitated agreement on the main way forward. The evaluation results of the workshop showed that all participants agreed that this workshop provided valuable insights into the prevailing situation of HIV in the road transport sector and that lessons and experiences were shared by various stakeholders. The in-depth discussions formed the basis for an agreed regional framework on which to pursue future engagement on the subject at both the national and regional levels.
Barbara Rijks, Regional HIV/AIDS Coordinator, IOM Regional Office for Southern Africa Robin Jackson, Head HIV/AIDS Unit, World Food Programme Luke Disney, Co-director, North Star Foundation
CONTENT:
- Case Studies: HIV Responses in the Road Transport Sector: (1) HIV Responses in South Africa’s Trucking Industry (2) Meeting the Business Challenge of HIV/AIDS (3) The Walvis Bay Corridor Group HIV/AIDS Helpdesk (4) Targeting long distance truck drivers in Zambia (5) Regional Outreach for Addressing AIDS through Development Strategies (ROADS) Project
- Research on HIV in the Transport Sector and Transport Corridors: (1) Men on the Move: STIs, HIV and Health-seeking Behavior Among LongDistance Truck Drivers in South Africa (2) Mapping Transactional Sex on the Northern Corridor Highway of East Africa (3) Impact of HIV and AIDS in the Transport Sector in Namibia (4) Policy Development on HIV in the Transport Sector
- HIV/AIDS Prevention & Impact Mitigation in the Transport Sector: An ILO Response to the Problems of HIV and AIDS in the Southern African Sub-region
- Discussion and Recommendations: (1) Integrated Health Services (2) Multi-Sectoral Communication Strategy (3) Coordination, Quality Assurance and Partnership Building (4) Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (5) Strategic Information (6) Advocacy and Policy Development