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MEDIA CENTER US Ambassador Visits Council-supported Truckers Project Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil (January 2005) — John J. Danilovich, the United States Ambassador to Brazil, visited Saude na Estrada ("health on the road"), a targeted HIV prevention project for truck drivers that combines service delivery and community outreach. Researchers from the Population Council/Brazil and the Horizons Program, in collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Health, are evaluating the outcomes of the intervention.
Based in Foz do Iguaçu, near the borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, the project’s outreach workers talk to truckers who are parked in the customs station, encouraging them to visit the clinic operating out of a trailer parked nearby. Each day approximately 400 trucks cross the border, which is in close proximity to a red-light district. Saude na Estrada provides a range of health services, including blood pressure and diabetes screening, as well as the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections—an important risk factor for HIV infection. The clinic also offers HIV testing and counseling, and follow-up referrals for care and treatment. Saude na Estrada’s clinic is one of the few places where truckers can get health care and information. The drivers' travel schedules reduce their ability to access services elsewhere. From October 2003 to December 2004 the project provided services to 1,800 truckers. This initiative began as a result of a study in six border communities conducted by the Population Council/Brazil at the request of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. This research received funding from USAID/Brazil though the Population Council Program III cooperative agreement. The study found that high-risk behavior was prevalent among truckers and sex workers in the communities. These findings became the springboard for the Saude na Estrada project. By evaluating the project’s strategies, researchers hope to develop a replicable program to address the needs of truckers and other mobile groups elsewhere in Brazil and in neighboring countries. Funding for project implementation and evaluation has come from USAID/Brazil, USAID/Washington through the Horizons Program, and from the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Ambassador Danilovich was accompanied by the US Consul General in São Paolo, Patrick Duddy, and other embassy and consulate staff members. The diplomats talked to the project team and to the truckers, observed client sessions, and received informational materials.
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