Road Wellness Centres help drive the war against Aids forward

The fight against HIV/Aids has been given a boost with the opening of the 10th Road Wellness Centre, in the North West province.

The fight against the spread of HIV and Aids has been given a boost with the opening of the 10th Road Wellness Centre, this time in North West province.

The new centre is fully equipped and a qualified nurse is on duty to offer healthcare and counselling to patients with sexually transmitted diseases. It is open from 6am to midnight.

Roadside Wellness Centres will be established on routes used by long-distance truck drivers such as the N1, N2, N3 and the N4. They aim at educating truck drivers and sex workers about the dangers of Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The North West centre has been developed as a partnership between the provincial government, the Swedish government, the Road Freight Association and National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight Industry.It is funded by a three-year R6-million sponsorship from the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency.

Speaking on behalf of the North West Premier Edna Molewa, Health MEC Nomonde Rasmeni said the road freight industry was a strategic industry, carrying 80 percent of the country's total freight and representing more than 70 000 people. She said it was unfortunate that the industry was threatened by Aids.

"These truckers, because of the nature of their jobs, are away from their families and society's support structures for long periods of time. This renders them a high risk group, vulnerable to another equally high risk group of sex workers or women at risk," she said.

"Road Wellness Centres are our practical education and healthcare responses to reduce infections and stem the Aids pandemic," she said.

She said the Zeerust Truck Inn was identified as a pilot project for the North West Province. Other clinics are planned for Koster-Derby and Kuruman Mines.

(Source: The Pretoria News, August 2005)