3.9. Multi-Sectoral Approaches

It is increasingly clear that there are important opportunities for mainstreaming gender in transport through multi-sectoral approaches. These include specifically focusing on the linkages between transport and:

• HIV/AIDS
• Maternal Health
• Credit, and Business Development
• Agriculture and Marketing
• Information and Communication Technologies

Combatting HIV/AIDS and in Transport Programs

The transport sector needs to play a key and proactive role in combatting HIV/AIDS because it is a major vector of the disease. International research shows that increased prevalence of HIV/AIDS is associated with:

1. The movement of people through the opening of new traffic routes and improved access and mobility (from urban areas to rural areas; between countries; between areas of high and low HIV prevalence).

2. The risky behavior associated with transport sector workers and transportation hubs (for example, road construction workers and truck drivers, truck stops, border posts, etc.).

Many transport ministries have begun addressing these issues by creating HIV/AIDS units and programs which provide services to contractors and local communities and creating HIV/AIDS policies for the sectors. In addition, there are programs such as the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor HIV/AIDS Initiative which is designed to specifically address HIV/AIDS awareness and access to testing, counseling and condoms at border posts and sites along this major corridor.

Case Example: Abidjan-Lagos Corridor HIV/AIDS Initiative

The HIV/AIDS Project for Abidjan-Lagos Transport Corridor aims to increase access to HIV/AIDS prevention, basic treatment, support and care services of vulnerable groups that reside along the Abidjan- Lagos transport corridor. The project is active in five countries - Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The project design phase included a civil society and social assessment that revealed the limited capacity of civil society organizations along the transport corridor . Most of these organizations focused only on HIV/AIDS information dissemination, education and communication, not on care and treatment. The project has provided grants to Civil Society Organizations for community based initiatives in HIV/AIDS care and support. In addition, the project has adopted innovative ways to limit HIV transmission along transport corridors by by making trans-national cooperation more effective through mass media awareness raising campaigns, films, and involvement of local stakeholders including religious leaders, traditional chiefs and commercial vehicle drivers in the project activities.

• Holistic sub-regional approach to HIV/AIDS and free movement of people & goods
• Awareness campaign with wide media coverage
• Three films produced and widely diffused
• Involvement of religious leaders and traditional chiefs
• Kiosks set up for condom sales
• Establishment of voluntary counseling and testing centers

Procedural Example: HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Treatment Requirements for World Bank Road Construction Contractors

• Prevention education
• Counseling and testing
• Referral for treatment
• Report on activities for monitoring and evaluation

Reducing Maternal Mortality

Case Example: UHURU Vehicle Saves Mothers' Lives

There are several programs which are promoting bicycle and motorcycle ambulances to help provide emergency access to healthcare facilities. One organization which is especially active in making the link between health and transport is Riders for Health (www.riders.com). The NGO won the Development Marketplace award from the World Bank in 2004 for the UHURU vehicles which are:

• Cost-effective, lightweight and extremely sturdy small capacity motorcycles with sidecars which are fitted with off-road tires.
• Cost effective way to provide life-saving transport for pregnant women with complications as well as serving as transport services for educational and market access and, in some cases, providing power generation for water irrigation and electricity.

Credit and Business Development Services for Female Transport Entrepreneurs

• Providing access to financing enables women to pursue transport-related businesses including farm related transport.
• Business development services help women manage and market their services more effectively.
• Case Example : Maintaining boat engines provides economic opportunities for Indian women who relied on credit to start their businesses.

Agriculture, Marketing and Transport

• Transport is a critical element for moving products to market and accessing inputs such as fertilizer, seeds and equipment as well as extension and market information.
• Most rural women have more limited access to land, labor, finance and product markets which in turn limits their opportunities to increase their productivity and income.
• It is important to take these constraints into account in agricultural marketing projects and ensure that women have access to transport and other resources needed to benefit from the program.

Case Example: Women's Group Uses Donkey Cart to Increase Farm Production in Ghana

The Kolongo Women's Group in Ghana produces millet and other crops. They purchased a donkey cart on credit from the local government through a project to facilitate the movement of inputs and products to market centers to increase production levels. The women's group also plans to use the cart to ease domestic transport burdens for water and wood transport.

Source: GRTI Ghana Country Report

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

• ICT enables access to information, networking, experience exchange and peer support.
• ICT is an important tool for entreprenership in all sectors including transport.
• It is important to ensure that new ICT reaches out to rural communities, women, girls, and youth.