Mohammed Ali

1. Mohammed Ali Hadi Albarchini Rachel Frey Kimberlee Larson Lula Seay-Savage

2. Mohammed Ali�s Story Mohammed is a long-haul truck driver in East Africa. He has a wife and eight kids. He reckoned he had sex with 100,000 women.

3. Story Continued He found out he was infected with HIV and is now celibate. His wife was tested for HIV and her results were negative.

4. Mohammed�s Experience Mohammed�s experience as a truck driver was selected for this book to show a more detailed insight on how HIV/AIDS is spread through Africa. Everything in Africa moves by trucks and no one travels across Africa more than a truck driver.

5. Experience Cont. The lifestyle of a truck driver in Africa. Truck drivers income is considered good by African standards. They refuse to modify their sexual behavior inspite of AIDS. They are away from their families months at a time. Their work conditions are very challenging.

6. Understanding of HIV/AIDS One way, HIV is transmitted is by sexual contact with an infected person. As mentioned before, long distance truck drivers have been identified as a group with high risk behavior of sleeping with prostitutes and spreading HIV along trade routes in the region.

7. Research Conducted 1980: Job Bwayo, a researcher in immunology at the University of Nairobi noticed an increase of AIDS among sex workers. He screened prostitutes and 80 % tested HIV positive. He wondered about their clients and in 1989: He tested truck drivers for the virus. 36 % Ugandan truckers were positive. 19 % Kenyan truckers were positive. 51 % Rwandan truckers were positive.

8. These truck drivers who patronize the prostitutes often have families they return to after the end of their journeys. As we learned in class, in Africa, prostitution is somewhat acceptable and it is culturally acceptable to have sex with your husband when they come home. Transmission is then spread to their wives and possibly their children. Long haul truck drivers such as Mohammed remain a key group for transmission of the disease.

9. How to get truck drivers to change. The U.S. Aid Organization Population Service International has a project called Corridors of Hope. Corridors of Hope targets drivers across Africa with condoms, education, and health care provided at truck stops.

10. Story Related to Other Readings Girls in the Rear-view Mirror Like Mohammed, Luis is a long-haul trucker who leaves his family,while he goes on these journeys. Both Mohammed and Luis slept with many prostitutes. The use of condoms among truck drivers is not very common.

11. Summary Mohammed regrets his past and has made his religion a part of his life. He is now concentrating on his family and living a better lifestyle. Mohammed has a positive attitude which he feels helps him with his disease and he has also accepted his fate.