By Lilian Museka

Nairobi, Kenya: As the East African Community continues to grapple with the rising cases of Covid-19, it is emerging that long distance truck drivers might be posing danger in spreading the virus

The drivers who simultaneously facilitate the transport of goods between member states, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, have since been classified under essential services in the region in line with Covid-19 Administrative Guidelines.

The measures outlined in a 17-page document to help curb the spread among the long distant truck drivers directed country Commissioners of Customs and other agencies to allow scanned documents in place of original documents which my take a longer time to be physically presented to facilitate faster movement of goods.

But despite the measures in place, entry points to the countries in the region are turning out to be having a lot of activities; making the drivers face public scrutiny as testing becomes mandatory.

North Star Alliance staff screening a trucker at Mai mahiu clinic in Nakuru County.

The most challenging part is that cases of more drivers turning positive are increasingly causing friction among the members states with other leaders proposing for borders to be closed while others returning drivers who turn positive to their countries of origin.

Long queues of trucks awaiting clearance are already being witnessed at border points as testing has become a mandatory. This has resulted in slower trade among the neighbors and this may lead to rise in cost of commodities to the end user and reduced cross border business which small size business are dependent on .

The region heavily relies on the freight transport industry to keep supply chains functioning. Currently very few cargo flights are in operation which in essence increases reliance on road transport

But while the region acknowledges the risk truck drivers might pose in spreading Covid-19 as they transport essential goods across the region, the truth is that the nature of their job hardly allows them to get information on the virus.

The drivers spend many hours alone in the truck. However, they face potential risks of exposure to the virus when they come in to close contact with the attendants at stop over places, store workers, dock workers, or even other truck drivers they meet on the way.

“Some of them leave their destinations when they are negative but due to frequent interactions with road sellers and eatery places or even touching their nose and mouth or eyes after contacting surfaces touched by a person with Covid-19, by the time they arrive, they will have contracted and that’s why we are having increased cases amongst the drivers, says Eva Mwai” Regional Director, East Africa at North Star Alliance.

A truck driver gets his temperature screened in efforts to curb the spread of covid-19.

North Star Alliance is an organization that creates a network of semi-mobile  “Blue Box” facilities from shipping containers repurposed as health clinics situated along major transport routes in six sub-Saharan Africa countries serving highly mobile hard to track populations.

“Our Blue Boxes are strategically located at ‘hotpots’ such as border crossings, transit towns and ports where large numbers of trucks stop to load and offload, and where sex work and informal trades flourish. Each Blue Box has flexible opening hours tailored to meet the needs of local clients, which often stretch late into the evenings,” she says.

It is unfortunate that the population at these high risk places is hardly sensitized on preventive measures thereby leaving them exposed to such pandemics as Covid-19

Due to emerging issues such as Corona, some of North Star staff,  MoH  front liners and some local leaders  were supported by the ministry to undergo a training of trainers (ToT) program, who in turn mobilized other staff and peer educators and trained them, forming the outreach workers that are now sensitizing the truckers.

So far, we have trained 68 TOTs and 124 outreach workers (mainly peer educators). We have trained in Mlolongo, Naivasha, MaaiMahiu,Gilgil Mombasa andMalaba.We provide information on COVID-19 to the truckers, which include preventive measures, symptoms and first response. Additionally, we screen all patients (including truckers) who visit our clinics. Scania donated masks, sanitizers and soap to us, and we have dispatched them to our clinics and truck parks to be distributed to the drivers,” adds Eva.

After the training by MoH, the sensitization programme which started early in May has so far seen a total of 1,652 people sensitized. At the same time, screening for temperature with infrared thermometers started in March 2020 and so far, upto 13,000 people – 50% of who are truckers and the rest sex workers and roadside community members have been screened with suspected cases being referred to MoH.

“It is important that all stakeholders come together and play a key role in minimizing COVID-19 transmission within high-risk demographics, supporting infection prevention and control and health education,” adds Eva.

North Star Alliance is currently doing this via the Blue Box facilities, while its cross-border electronic health records system helps in monitoring the health of frequent high-risk travellers.

The regional director also called on truck drivers’ employers to encourage continuous testing of their employees, encourage sick drivers to stay at home and those diagnosed with COVID-19 should remain in isolation until cleared by healthcare providers.

She also adds that employers must provide drivers with all PPE (including vests, safety glasses, hard hats) that they might need while on the road to avoid borrowing from others, provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing at least 70 alcohol for truck cabs and also tissues and small trash cans for truck cabs.

Eva is of the opinion that the current friction among the regional countries can easily be addressed if all members’ states agreed to sensitize the truckers from destination of origin. “If left unattended the impact could pose a big challenge in the supply chain as essential goods will not be able to get from one place to another.

The organization also has interventions in the healthcare for people living with HIV and other diseases and is funded by such partners as Aidsfonds,Trafigura Foundation, AMREF and principal recipients of CDC and USAID funds such as FHI360 and Impact Research and Development Organization (IRDO) among others. Grand Challenges Canada partners in the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) interventions.