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AIDS programme to target truck drivers

    JOHANNESBURG

    South Africa's truck drivers are set to benefit from a major HIV/AIDS campaign, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Monday.

    With as many as 20 percent of drivers in the road freight industry estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, the campaign aims to offer voluntary counselling and testing, with the possibility of treatment.

    Herman Lemmer, chief executive of the Road Freight Association said: "At the moment we are looking at the extent of [driver infection rates] and from there on we will quantify it and look at how much it will cost to intervene."

    Piet Tshabalala, a truck driver for over 30 years, said on long road trips the temptation for casual and sometimes unprotected sex with a stranger was high.

    "I am worried because truck drivers are dying in numbers, and this will eventually cripple the economy, Tshabalala confirmed.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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