Exclusive Campaign Against HIV/AIDS For Truck Drivers in Cameroon, West Africa

An event to fight against HIV/AIDS among long-distance truck drivers was launched in Awae near Yaoundé, West Africa. ’Beware of AIDS!’ was the song on the lips of people who thronged the truck park in Awae in the Mefou and Afamba Division of the Center Region. Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, said that the choice of Awae to launch the campaign was a demonstration of the efforts of government to care for vulnerable people.

The campaign is a continuous fight to equip truck drivers with knowledge to negotiate their sexuality in a responsible manner. Truck drivers spend at least six nights out of their homes, which makes them more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection.

The campaign aims at sensitizing truck drivers and their partners on the need for the correct use of condoms in order to reduce the risk of new HIV infections.

Unveiling of a sensitization billboard on the Yaounde-Bertoua highway marked the beginning of the event. The billboard will help sensitize drivers on the need to protect themselves against HIIV/AIDS and to let them know the distance they have covered and what is left.

The initiative will also see the production and distribution of a CD with awareness sketches by top Cameroonian satirists such as Major Asse, Moustik, Le Karismatique and Edoudoua Non-glacé. The campaign is in line with the regional approach implemented by the Cameroon Association for Social Marketing (ACMS) with OCEAC member countries.

Source-Medindia