Communities Pledge to Fight HIV/AIDS Along
Transportation Routes
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Robert Clay, director of USAID Global Health’s Office of HIV/AIDS, receives a copy of the SafeTStop Community Partnership Pact from
Dr. Mkamba Mashombo, Temeke Municipal Council medical health officer.
Source: USAID/Tanzania |
October 28, 2008
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — Community leaders representing port workers, truckers, fishermen, women, youth, and people living with HIV/AIDS in (Mbozi), Makambako (Njombe), and Mtoni (Temeke) Districts came together at the Port of Dar es Salaam Monday to sign a pact pledging to work in their communities to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The event was organized by Family Health International’s ROADS Project, a regional effort to help communities create SafeTStops along major transport routes and protect transport workers, residents, and visitors from HIV/AIDS.
The event was attended by representatives of Tanzania Ports Authority, Tanzania Marketing and Communications, Tanzania Pharmaceutical Technicians Association, Mission To Seafarers, Chama cha Wauzaji Madawa, Family Health International/UJANA project, Temeke Municipal Council, and women and youth groups from Mtoni Ward.
The spread of HIV/AIDS is a major problem along Tanzania’s transport corridors, where infection rates can be as much as twice the national average. ROADS, supported by the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is working to empower local communities along transport corridors to fight HIV/AIDS through prevention, care, and support programs that community members develop and lead.
Thirteen community groups operating around the Port of Dar es Salaam, in addition to transport worker associations, private pharmacies, and drug shops, will soon launch activities to fight HIV/AIDS as part of the project, which will include a strategically located SafeTStop Recreation and HIV Resource Center, where mobile workers and community men can access HIV information, services, and referrals in an alcohol-free environment. In addition, community programs for youth, women, and people living with HIV will be strengthened in areas near the port where transport workers congregate. ROADS/Tanzania programs in Tunduma and Makambako have been offering similar programs for nearly two years.
According to guest of honor Robert Clay, director of USAID Global Health’s Office of HIV/AIDS, "SafeTStop is part of the American people’s larger efforts to support Tanzania families and communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This year alone, we will provide more than $300 million through the President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS to help prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in Tanzania. Tanzania’s leaders and communities are strong and resolute in the face of this killer disease. The SafeTStop Community Partnership Pact is a symbol of this resolve as you work to rid your communities of HIV/AIDS. We applaud your efforts and stand with you hand in hand as you fight this battle on your streets, in your ports, and in neighborhoods all across Tanzania.”
PEPFAR is the largest global health initiative directed at a single disease that any nation has ever undertaken. For more information about PEPFAR, please visit http://www.pepfar.gov.
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