Funding withdrawn for Aids clinics
Kevin Mayhew
THE PUBLICITY and activities surrounding the implementation of the HIV/Aids anti-retroviral roll-out announced by the Minister of Health, Dr Mantho Tshabalala-Msimang, earlier this year has been to the detriment of the freight industry whose needs have now taken a back seat.
The managing director of The Learning Clinic, Paul Matthew, said the hysteria in the wake of the anti-retroviral roll-out announcements drowned out the cries for assistance by initiatives actively diagnosing, treating and educating about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) specifically within the professional driving community and roadside sex workers free of charge. STIs are the prime precursor to HIV/Aids.
“The industry must note that by 2005 there will be too few drivers to meet the demand, especially those with the sort of experience that you need to handle expensive rigs. The cost of a shrinking driver pool will rise, or operators will be forced to use less experienced drivers, which will obviously impact negatively on accident rates and consequently insurance premiums,” said Matthew.
The Learning Clinic has been involved in establishing seven roadside clinics along the country’s busiest routes and at border crossings. The clinics were established with the participation of sponsors, the Departments of Health of the national and provincial governments, and representative bodies of the road freight industry.
Illustrating his point, Matthew said it should be noted that two major projects it undertook - an eighth roadside clinic at Komatipoort and a linked computer network to facilitate treatment of STI sufferers - were both closed due to a lack of continued funding in December last year.
“On the eve of such a major national announcement about treating Aids, we are having funding withdrawn suddenly when our role is to diagnose, isolate and treat to prevent HIV/Aids and the need for anti-retrovirals,” he adds.
Tertius Wessels, The Learning Clinic project coordinator for its principal outreach programme for drivers, their assistants and commercial sex workers, Trucking Against Aids, said its on-going research and data based on drivers and sex workers who voluntarily interfaced with its roadside clinic staff indicated that one in seven drivers or sex workers had STIs. Extrapolated to include the whole industry with 70 000 professional drivers, it meant a possible 10 000 drivers were at risk - many not aware or too afraid to approach an employer for fear of losing a job.
Empirical reseach about HIV/Aids prevalence in the country is presently being undertaken by the Reproductive Health Research Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital which is due to complete its research in July this year.
