HIV/Aids and transport: Time for global response

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محتوى الصفحة: Home > مجلة النقل الدولي "Transport International" > Issue 24 July 2006 > HIV/Aids and transport > Prevention and treatment

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Prevention and treatment

HIV/AIDS may not be curable, but it is certainly preventable and treatable. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that almost two-thirds of the new infections projected to occur during the period 2002-2010 can be prevented if the coverage of existing HIV prevention strategies is substantially increased.

Responses to the disease have grown and improved considerably over the past decade. But still they do not match the scale and pace of this steadily worsening epidemic.

In the absence of an effective vaccine (which will not be available for some years yet), bringing AIDS under control will demand far greater resolve from governments, employers, trade unions and other institutions in tackling the underlying factors that fuel the epidemic. These include stigma, discrimination, gender inequalities and other human rights violations. It will also require overcoming the new injustices created by AIDS, such as the stripping of capacity – at the human, community and institutional levels and beyond.

These are extraordinary and exceptional challenges and demand extraordinary and exceptional global responses. It is now well established that without the active involvement of transport workers and their unions it is not possible to develop a viable response against the pandemic. As transport unions we have a very critical role to play and this requires commitment, as well as a genuine understanding of the problem. We really need to intensify our effort and energy to make an effective impact at political, industrial and workplace levels. We must focus on developing a global perspective to combat this crisis.

Global project

Since the late 1980s, the ITF and some of its affiliates have been actively involved in HIV prevention programmes for different types of transport workers, through educational activities. But these programmes are mainly focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, where the HIV epidemic has reached its highest peak.

The ITF recently launched its new visionary Global HIV/AIDS project. The project has a full-time HIV Coordinator based at head office in London for the overall coordination of project activities. The global project is aiming to globalise solidarity among transport workers in which transport unions from different countries cooperate to mobilise their resources, prioritising the needs of transport workers all over the world.

The project will build up the profile of the campaign against HIV/AIDS, together with other Global Union Federations. It is expected that this project will help the unions to involve the employers in the development of workplace policies, including the provision of comprehensive HIV/AIDS clauses in collective agreements.

Unions will be able to use special resource materials for organising awareness campaigns and programmes. Our primary goal in the fight against HIV/AIDS is obviously to protect existing and future members. We hope the project will also help provide unions with a powerful organising tool, attracting non-union and particularly young workers with the message that the union is taking responsibility on this vital issue and can offer tangible support to members.

The ITF has 666 affiliates in 142 countries. We are in a position to build a global struggle against HIV/AIDS, which links to our struggle against neo-liberal policies, gender discrimination and the negative effects of globalisation on transport workers all over the world. With a coordinated effort we can surely make a difference in helping to prevent more infections among transport workers and their families, and in supporting those members already living with or affected by this devastating disease.

Syed Asif Altaf is coordinating the ITF’s three-year global project on HIV/AIDS. He was previously HIV/AIDS programme coordinator for the NGO Care International based in Bangladesh.

Current ITF initiatiives

■ HIV/AIDS and transport workers in Africa: A continuation from previous ITF projects in Sub-Saharan Africa encouraging affiliates to recognise HIV/AIDS as a workplace and trade union issue. The project puts particular emphasis on the development of workplace policies and collective bargaining.

■ HIV/AIDS and transport workers – South Asia: The project is primarily concerned with focusing on HIV/AIDS as a trade union and workplace issue, targeting affiliates in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

■ Joint regional HIV/AIDS project in the Abidjan-Lagos transport corridor: A World Bank financed HIV/AIDS prevention project. ITF affiliates in Cote d’Ivoire and Togo are taking part.

■ REDSO transport corridor initiative: A prevention project run by USAID’s Regional Economic Development Services Office for East and Southern Africa (REDSO/ESA), funded by Family Health International. ITF affiliates in Kenya and DR Congo are taking part.

■ Seafarer’s Health Information Programme (SHIP): A health promotion campaign implemented by the International Committee on Seafarers’ Welfare (ICSW), and funded by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust. This project covers seven health issues and HIV/AIDS is one of the important issues among them.

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Issue 24 July 2006

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