Improving health among transport workers in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Long-distance transport workers are vulnerable to HIV infection. Many interventions in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) address this fact. However, these interventions often miss the multiple other risks to the health of this group, such as substance use, unsafe sex, unsafe roads, poor diets, long working hours and long absence from home.

The Health without Borders project provided a deeper analysis of working conditions and health behaviour of transport workers along the selected transport corridors as a basis for planning better interventions. Based on this analysis, at least one comprehensive health intervention was piloted in partnership with key national and regional stakeholders.

The project aims to mobilize stakeholders, including transport workers themselves, transport enterprises, relevant ministries and government agencies, as well as local and international NGOs to work more closely together to address the health concerns of long-distance road transport workers which have significant public health implications.

For more information about the project, as well as the research findings, the lessons learned from the pilot interventions and policy recommendations to address the underlying concern of this target group, please refer to:

Health without Borders: Improving health and reducing HIV/AIDS vulnerability among long-distance road transport workers through a multisectoral approach (2007) ST/ESCAP/2442