Partnership opens another Trucking Wellness Centre

5 Dec 2011

The 22nd Trucking Wellness Centre was recently opened in Roodekop, Johannesburg serving South Africa's vital trucking industry. Trucking Wellness - the long-term partnership between Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA), The South African Business Coalition on HIV and Aids (SABCOHA), Embassy of Sweden and Trucking Wellness under the umbrella of the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI) - recently witnessed further expansion of the programme.

Nobuzwe Mangcu, divisional manager at MBSA, praised the project: "We are proud to be linked to such a successful initiative, which has seen over 430 000 individuals receiving HIV/Aids counselling and 155 000 people receiving treatment at present. The road freight industry is the lifeblood of our commercial vehicle business. We are committed to contributing in a manner that benefits this important cog in the wheel of our country's economy, but more importantly we are able to help make a difference in the lives of hundreds of individuals and their families. The significance of this milestone is that it demonstrates how a well-run private public partnership can successfully deliver essential support and benefit for our country's truck drivers."

Taxi industry may become involved

As with the other 21 centres established nationally, the opening of a wellness centre is determined by the volumes of trucking activity in the area. The Roodekop Wellness Centre is an ideal hub to reach long-distance truck drivers, women at risk, as well communities in the area. The aim of the Trucking Wellness Centres is to raise awareness and advocate testing, prevention and treatment of HIV/Aids.

Brad Mears, CEO of SABCOHA, said: "The partnership cements the long-standing relationship and commitment to come together and provide meaningful access to services and facilities that help mitigate the effects of HIV/Aids in the trucking sector. The launch of this Trucking Wellness Centre is particularly meaningful, as it is on the eve of the day that governments, businesses and communities across the world acknowledge the impact that this pandemic has had and continues to have on our global future."

"With the successes achieved SABCOHA approached the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) to look at ways in which this success and tangible impact could be replicated. To this end, we are currently in high-level discussions with SANTACO to see how the Trucking Wellness initiative can be extended into the taxi industry, something which will not only impact taxi owners and drivers, but also the commuters who use the taxis and visit taxi ranks," Mears added.