The Abidjan-Lagos Transport Corridor

Article 1 in SSATP Newsletter, Issue 4 – March 2008

Completion of the Joint Regional STD/HIV/AIDS Project along the Abidjan-Lagos Transport Corridor

SSATP was represented at the meeting on the completion of the Joint Regional STD/HIV/AIDS Project along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor in Cotonou, Benin from January 28 to February 4, 2008. The aim was to share evidence on successes, achievements and weaknesses and support NGOs and regional economic communities in their program development on the limitiation of the HIV/AIDS pandemic along transit corridors.

HIV/AIDS poses an unprecedented challenge to the achievement of sustainable socioeconomic development. Cognizant of the gravity of this epidemic, of its negative impact on the individual, the family, and the community, officials from the five countries of the Abidjan-Lagos migration corridor, namely Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, designed and implemented a joint project.

The Joint Regional Project along the Abidjan-Lagos Transport Corridor (commonly known as the Corridor Project) seeks to expand the access of vulnerable persons to support services, basic care and treatment, and prevention. In this migration context, the project targets transport sector workers, police officers, customs officers, porters, sex workers, and other persons working at the border posts between the five countries.

The Corridor Project, which cost a total of US$19.9 million (including a grant for US$16.6 million from the World Bank), was launched in 2004 and is the first regional HIV/AIDS prevention project to be financed by the World Bank. Owing to its multisectoral and multicountry nature, it contributes to regional integration in West Africa.

Objectives of the project

The objective of the project was to increase access along the Abidjan-Lagos transport corridor (ALCO) to HIV/AIDS prevention, basic treatment, support and care services by underserved vulnerable groups. The project was expeected to contribute to the reduction of the spread of HIV/AIDS and the mitigation of its adverse and social impact along the corridor. 

Targeted population 

Commercial vehicle drivers, commercial sex workers, migrants and the people who live in border areas along the major transport routes, are among the vulnerable groups that may be affected by HIV/AIDS.  According to the social assessment done in 2001, about 300,000 HIV positive people were traveling along the corridor every year. Hence, the beneficiaries of the project came from multi-sectoral, multi-language and multi-culture from five (5) countries- Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and covering 1,200 Km involving 17 hours of grueling formalities at the 4 borders.

Although overall HIV/AIDS prevalence rates may still be relatively low among the five project countries of the Corridor (Côte d’Ivoire 10.8% Ghana 3.6%, Togo 6%, Benin 3.6% and Nigeria 5.1%), the 3 million people with high risk behaviour who each year cross the five countries, raise concerns.
 It would be recalled that this corridor alone accounts for about 70 % of  ECOWAS Regions inter-State trade and transit (Department of Statistics, 2005).

Notable achievements

The project created a champion of “best practices”
 -Large number of population has been sensitized on the dangers and mitigation of VIH/AIDS;
 -Involvement of decentralized communities and a high number of NGO’s and the  demonstration of ownership by the local population and district administrations;
 -Development of operational indicators for monitoring;
-Initiated change of attitude by creating awareness among travelers and truck drivers;
-Found new strategy to highlight plight of women who are more vulnerable .
-Strengthening and cooperation with Associations like “Women and Children of Hope”; RAP "Réseau  africain des personnes infestées” (Network of infested people)

-Ineffective capacity building of the local population to take over the project at completion;
-Measures have not been identified for the project to maintain anti-AIDs Groups;
-Inadequate provision of funds to formalize  support to infested victims, orphans and pregnant women;
-Provisions and measures have not been made to maintain facilities like refuse depots;
-Inter-border facilitation committees are weak due to erroneous behavioral mentality;
-Difficulties to harmonize border crossing policies and procedures (border between Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana is closed at 18hrs on the Ghanaian side; and closed between Togo and Ghana at 22hrs, forcing truck drivers to spend the night at these points);
Some countries complained they did not benefit as much as others;
-Countries still held on to their national beliefs to the detriment of regional conventions. Some ways should be found to stop lip services by governments.

Lessons from ALCO

 Alco has become the first  “compedium of good practice” worthy of emulation by other transit corridors to deal effectively with hyper-mobile travelers with a policy oriented interventions.
The mission sought  agreement from Stakeholders and RECs to document this " best  practice" , and  disseminate  the methodologies applied to address issues .

Due to its successes, The GLOBAL FUND has accepted and provided $45 million for the continuation of the project. The Government of Benin has provided a Permanent Building in Cotonou to house the secretariat of ALCO.

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