Transport corridor communities in Africa mobilize against HIV

Location: 11 African countries (ROADS I and II)

The transport corridors of east, central and southern Africa are economic lifelines that link countries with their neighbors. They are also major transmission routes for HIV. The Roads to a Healthy Future (ROADS II) project is strengthening communities along these routes by linking them with health services, expanding economic opportunities, improving food security and working to protect women and girls from sexual exploitation and abuse. ROADS II brings together local volunteer groups with similar interests to plan and implement activities jointly to meet community needs — from generating demand for HIV testing and counseling to enhancing food security and livelihoods for women. ROADS II collaborates closely with national AIDS control programs; government ministries; district health management teams; health facilities; and local, national and multinational companies. By the end of 2011, ROADS I and II had reached approximately 4.3 million people, including 300,000 truck drivers across 11 African countries. About 1,200 community-based organizations with more than 82,000 members had been mobilized into 80 community clusters, transforming corridors of risk into pathways of prevention and hope.