The Road to Good Health HIV/AIDS Toolkit
The Road to Good Health (RTGH) is an educational tool developed by the World Bank’s transport sector to address the increased risk of HIV transmission associated with road development projects. It is designed to help prepare, plan, implement, and monitor behavior change communication initiatives supporting HIV/AIDS reduction efforts on road construction projects financed by the World Bank and our donor partners. The World Bank and many other donors require HIV education to be implemented in association with Bank-funded infrastructure projects in excess of $10 million.
A new transportation investment mobilizes many groups, including construction teams, migratory labor forces, managers and supervisors. This increases exposure to HIV to others, such as remote or rural populations that may soon become located along road networks and throughways. Project-affected workers and residents, as well as commercial sex workers that locate themselves in the vicinity of construction camps or are associated with local communities, are the focus of the RTGH Toolkit. This toolkit seeks to complement existing local efforts, collaborating with relevant agencies and partners wherever possible, and is designed to make use of established information, education, communication (IEC) materials. Implementation of the RTGH campaign should proceed in close cooperation with existing activities to become part of the local HIV/AIDS communication strategy
The RTGH Toolkit employs behavior chance communication (BCC), which is a training approach that utilizes dialogue, consultation, and collaboration between health and transport professionals, local change agents, and the populations targeted by the training. It uses BCC to create a results-based approach to program development, geared towards participation and mobilization of project-affected persons to limit their risk of exposure to HIV.
There are three entry points for HIV education: prior to bidding; after contract award and prior to mobilization; and, after mobilization. The actions required differ and are summarized below.
Prior to Bidding
- Have the client identify partners to provide useful resources and materials, and service providers who can deliver the RTGH campaign. (See Part 1 of the toolkit for several suggested agency contacts by region and by country, and the Expectations for Facilitators training guide for more information on expectations of service providers and peer education.)
- Include in the Bill of Quantity a provision sum to cover the costs of implementing and monitoring the RTGH campaign.
- Include in the bidding document the recommended ‘Particular Conditions of Contract’:
- Adapting the Bank’s standard text;
- Highlighting the use of the RTGH toolkit for the information, education, and communication (IEC) campaign; and
- Emphasizing the need for the contractor to make staff available while mobilized.
After Contract Award, Prior to Mobilization
- Ensure agreements are in place between the contractor(s) and service provider(s) who will be delivering the RTGH Campaign.
- Require service provider(s) to develop an action plan for implementing the RTGH Campaign.
- Request service provider(s) adapt the RTGH Campaign and existing resources to target local conditions, project context and populations. If multiple service providers, one approach and set of resources should be agreed upon prior to implementation.
After Mobilization
- Undertake a baseline survey of HIV/AIDS awareness using the RTGH survey forms. This assessment can be performed as part of the Safeguards Review and results fed into the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) component of the project. (See Part 1 of the toolkit for additional information on the baseline assessment.)
- Undertake the RTGH Campaign in accordance with the agreed upon action plan. (Numerous tools are available for use by service providers in Part 4 of the toolkit.)
- Receive reports on progress including updates to the baseline survey. (Tools for evaluating outcomes of the Campaign are available in Part 3 of the toolkit.)
The RTGH consists of: