Tata Steel Foundation, which has been running an activity-filled awareness campaign among long-distance truck drivers about safe sex practices, released a report on World AIDS Day on Tuesday, indicating that it had reached out to over 53,000 drivers this fiscal.

"Due to frequent mobility, truck drivers lack access to general healthcare and low contact with HIV intervention programmes also restrict their access in seeking general healthcare and STI and HIV care. Thus, it is important to work with the trucking community for awareness and prevention of HIV among them,” said a statement issued by Tata Steel Foundation.

For the last few years, Tata Steel Foundation has worked with long-distance truck drivers and helpers to get them tested for HIV at the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC). The project is being run at five truckers’ halt points at Jamshedpur, Dimna, Burmamines, Jugsalai and Baliguma.

Last year (FY 2019-20), the foundation report suggested, around 56,000 truckers were reached through clinical care and awareness programmes.

In collaboration with Tata Motors’ Parivar Kalyan Sansthan and Family Planning Association of India (FPAI), the foundation also conducts health camps and eye camps for drivers.

Every year on World AIDS Day, rallies, nukkad natak (street plays), quiz competitions are organised.

But this year no events were held due to the pandemic.

Various social outfits, and the Scouts and Guides, which usually brings out an awareness rally in the steel city to mark the day, cancelled their programmes this time.