The initial activity of this project is a baseline assessment and pilot of a draft toolkit full of activities which people can do to learn more about HIV and how to protect themselves, a press release about the meeting said.

The other stakeholders include the HIV prevention NGO, PACT, representatives of Transport Ministry and Project Management Unit 1 (PMU1), representatives of construction companies and Ca Mau Province government officials.

Hoang Anh Dung from the transport sector of the World Bank Vietnam told Thanh Nien after the meeting Friday that the PMU1 representative was waiting for confirmation from the Vice Minister of Transport before finalizing the deal with WB and PACT to launch the initial stage at an infrastructure project in Ca Mau Province.

Dung said the Mekong Delta was chosen to implement the HIV prevention toolkit, because many workers in the Delta travel from place to place to work.

He said, “We have to raise awareness of the relative parties - the representatives of the Transport Ministry, PMU1 and the construction contractors. In this meeting we have done that.”

A six bridge construction package in the province had been chosen by the World Bank as the most appropriate site, based on the construction time line, the cost of the project and the large number of migrant workers at the site available to interview.

To adapt the existing “Road to Good Health” education, communication and information toolkit to the context of Vietnam, PACT will conduct a base line assessment at the construction sites from September to December.

PACT was selected by the World Bank to conduct the baseline assessment of the target groups working and living at the new bridge sites who are most at risk of getting HIV.

Once the assessment is complete and the toolkit adapted, it will be applied all over Vietnam and WB will recommend that all infrastructure projects over US$10 million must factor the toolkit into the costing as a measure against HIV transmission.

According to PACT, the survey, which has been funded by WB for $40,000, will entail interviews with construction managers, supervisors, construction workers, truck drivers, female sex workers and residents.

The data will be used to identify information gaps in the target population and adapt the information toolkit to suit the target groups’ needs to raise HIV awareness and affect behavioral change to reduce transmission of the virus.

“Most construction contractors care about safety but know little about HIV, while some workers don’t even know how HIV is transmitted,” PACT’s project manager Nguyen Anh Thuan said.

“The most at risk of HIV are intravenous drug users and sex workers but research shows that migrant workers are also at high risk,” Thuan said, saying that these workers live away from home in groups and have sexual needs so they see sex workers and have an HIV impact on local residents.”

Without projects and intervention like this toolkit there would be more negative impacts on residents, he said.

In August 2006, six development agencies including the World Bank and Asia Development Bank signed the Joint Initiative by Development Agencies for the Infrastructure Sectors to Mitigate the Spread of HIV/AIDS.

Thuan said, “This toolkit is the initial step to realize the banks’ commitment in Vietnam. It’s a great commitment.”