The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) on Wednesday received N.dollars 100 000 from Engen Namibia to cover fuel for its mobile clinics.
The mobile clinics form part of the WBCG Roadside Wellness Centres established in 2006 along the major transport corridors in the country to provide primary health care services to truck drivers along with the community they interact with.
The six operational wellness centres are situated at Katima Mulilo, Walvis Bay, Windhoek, Oshikango, Gobabis and Otjiwarongo and provide services such as recording and monitoring truck drivers’ wellness, including confidential medical test results for specified communicable diseases such as HIV/Aids and COVID-19, among others.
Receiving the donation, WBCG chief executive officer Mbahupu Tjivikua said all six centres are equipped with mobile clinics.
“As we speak, some mobile clinics have been deployed to temporary truck port facilities to fight COVID-19,” he said.
In addition, Tjivikua said their wellness services have been responsive to the medical challenges in the transport industry.
He said a public-private partnership in Walvis Bay was formed for a temporary truck port isolation facility along with Namport, the Walvis Bay Municipality and the trucking industry.
Once they arrive at the facility, truck drivers undergo a registration process to enable contact tracing should they be found to have symptoms of COVID-19, he said.
To date, the mobile wellness clinics stationed at the truck port have screened close to 1 400 local and cross-border truck drivers.