As more and more people cross borders for
work, recreation and safety, the risk of disease spreading from country to
country, and within countries, grows. In sub-Saharan Africa, studies show that
people on the move, like truck drivers, play a pivotal role in the spread of
disease and their health is intertwined with that of sex workers and other
people living in remote roadside communities.
These groups of people; truck drivers, male
and female sex workers, mine workers, seasonal workers, and the communities
seeking opportunity around areas
frequented by mobile workers, are included by UNAIDS in their 90:90:90
Fast-Track strategy to end the AIDS
epidemic by 2030.
Beyond the reach of traditional health
systems and away from home for extended periods, these population groups are
more vulnerable to illness and more likely to take health risks. Playing a key
role in transmitting disease between communities and across borders, and with
their mobility impacting their ability to access health services, we thought: if they can’t get to healthcare, then
healthcare needs to get to them.
Our “Blue Box” approach breaks down the
social barriers of traditional health clinics, providing mobile populations
with primary healthcare services from Blue Box clinics. Located at ‘hotspots’
like border posts, transit towns or ports where large numbers of trucks stop,
load and offload, and where sex work and
informal trades flourish, our Blue Boxes keep flexible hours, tailored to the needs
of our target populations.
Each clinic’s well-trained local clinical
and outreach teams participate in quality and performance monitoring, meaning
we can provide continuously relevant services at optimal locations, all the
while building capacity in local communities.
Responsive to the specific needs of our
client groups, our health service package is comprehensive. Our clinicians
provide general health check-ups, treatment for a range of diseases including
malaria, sexually transmitted infections, counselling and testing for HIV, anti-retroviral
treatment and referrals, condoms and information on topics including
tuberculosis, hypertension, diabetes and positive gender relations.
Our outreach teams use the Blue Boxes as
hubs for disseminating public health information to surrounding communities.
Working with a range of government, corporate and civil society partners, we
recruit and train truck drivers, sex workers and members of the local community
to promote HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights awareness and
prevention to their peers.
Our pioneering model provides an affordable
and effective solution for bringing primary healthcare and HIV intervention to
mobile workers and the communities they interact with.
With innovation at our roots, we constantly
assess our services and invest in ways to improve our capacity to deliver them.
Early on, we recognised that for continuity of care our clients needed the
ability to access their medical records across borders. Together with our
partner ORTEC, we developed COMETS, a clinical administration system allowing
patients to access their health records at every clinic across our
network.
The addition of Blue Box laboratories
increases the efficiency and efficacy of diagnoses by our clinicians and
strengthens the health services available to remote communities.
We know that a “Blue Box” can’t solve all
the health challenges facing our clients, but we’ve been amazed to discover how
much of a difference it can make. As we continue to expand our network across
Africa, we invite you to follow our story and join us in thinking outside of
the box, and inside a blue one.