Health and wellbeing of truck drivers
The transport sector forms the backbone of India’s economy. Today, the logistics sector represents five percent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 2.2 crore people. Carrying about 60-65% of the freight traffic, truck drivers playing a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless movement of goods across the country. India’s trucking industry with over 3.5 million truck drivers is facing the problem of driver shortage. The Truck to driver ratio has come down from 1.3 in 1980s to 0.55 in 2024 has resulted 40% trucks to stand idle. Truck driving profession has become un aspirational due to numerous challenges truck drivers face like a tough way of life, Irregular meal timing, lack of access to nutritious food, long working hours, lack of sleep, limited access to health care opportunities, family and other social institutions, and low respect. Safety on roads is a another significant concern and accidents are common involving trucks on highways. Despite the demanding nature of their profession about 85% of these drivers work in the unorganized sector, leaving them without access to essential benefits like health insurance, pension schemes, and accident coverage which makes the profession repelling. Health and wellbeing of truck drivers and their family is a major concern area and often remains overlooked. Data from the Ministry of Labour and Employment (2020) shows that only 15% of informal sector workers in India have access to any form of social security. Truck drivers often have limited awareness of their health conditions, with hypertension, diabetes, dehydration, and muscle pain being common concerns and then Limited access to medical facilities due to continuous stays on highways. IIT Delhi and Foresight foundation with the support of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, thoughtfully designed and implemented an integrated framework Project Abhay that seamlessly combines health, vision, social security, and behavioural interventions to provide a holistic solution tailored to the unique needs of truck drivers. Project Abhay follows an holistic approach by integrating comprehensive health screenings including physical health, mental health, and vision check-ups with on-spot dispensing of spectacles, social security enrolments, awareness modules, and soft skilling workshops. The project operates through a modular health camp-based approach, ensuring systematic delivery of services to each participant. The camps operates at high-potential locations with consistent inflow of truck drivers such as toll plazas, transport nagars, RTO fitness centers, port terminals, and dhabas. Project Abhay also reflects the synergy of collaboration among government bodies, transport unions, logistics, and grassroots organizations, ensuring that every stakeholder contributes to creating impactful and sustainable change.
