IOM recently conducted research on Health and HIV vulnerabilities of port users in Beira, Maputo and Nacala in Mozambique.  The study found that port users are vulnerable to HIV, with high levels of multiple partners and transactional sex being recorded.  More than half (55%) of the total number of respondents interviewed were migrants, and of the three sites Beira Port recorded  the largest mobile population with more than half of port users coming from outside Beira, including neighbouring Malawi and Zimbabwe. 

The Port of Beira is the second largest port and urban centre in Mozambique and serves as a key transportation point for Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia.  Truck drivers make up the majority of the “highly mobile” population in Beira and often live 300 to 700km away from the Beira corridor, and so rarely see their families.

Beira’s hot spots include truck driver parking areas which attract sex workers at night and over the weekend. IOM’s recent “hot spot” mapping of transport corridors in Mozambique shows that in Beira, sex workers stay in contact with truck drivers on cell phones and often catch rides and sometimes stay with truck drivers as they pass through an area. 

While the majority of port users interviewed had good knowledge of HIV transmission, this has not necessarily led to a change in behaviour to reduce vulnerability to HIV.  Although condoms are free and readily available in most ‘hot spot’ communities, only about 40% of truck drivers reported using a condom during their last sexual encounter. Some sex workers reported not accessing health services due to a sense of shame, stigma and the fear of losing clients, some of whom are the health services providers.

The study concludes that ports of Mozambique can be considered “spaces of vulnerability,” for both migrants and host communities. It further recommends the promotion of behaviour change programmes such as gender sensitisation interventions, life skills, peer education and recreation.

To respond to this, IOM, in partnership with EcoSida, and the Beira Port authority has kick-started the implementation by conducting a four-day gender sensitisation session with 30 HIV focal points from companies working in the port.  The training was aimed at building the capacity of attendees to enable them to sensitise their fellow peers on Gender, HIV and Mobility as it relates to port users.

Following the training session IOM and EcoSida are developing a strategy to carry out similar sensitisations in the corridors in future. EcoSida will also incorporate Gender, HIV and Migration components into their existing curriculum for peer educators in companies and for service providers with whom they work.

The full assessment report of health vulnerabilities among migrant and non migrant workers in the ports of Mozambique can be downloaded from IOM’s website: www.iom.org.za