History

The first Roadside Wellness Centre in Mwanza, Malawi in 2005

In 2005, TNT and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) teamed up to address the AIDS epidemic in Southern Africa. Following a joint mission to Malawi and a lot of brainstorming, Mark Gunton and James Jenkin from TNT, Robin Landis from WFP, and Paul Matthew from the Learning Clinic, set off down the road to create something from nothing. Backstopped by a few passionate individuals and start-up funds from TNT, the ‘Muyende Bwino’ drop-in health clinic was born.

North Star was formed in 2006 to unite the transport sector in its response to the impact of AIDS on its workforce and bottom line. It was established by the express distribution company TNT and WFP, after the success of their health clinic, or Roadside Wellness Centre, which offered information and healthcare on the Mwanza border crossing in Malawi.

In 2007, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) joined forces with TNT and WFP to create a network of  Roadside Wellness Centres along the major transport routes, targeting border crossings, ports and truck stops.

In 2008, under the leadership of a newly appointed Executive Director, Luke Disney, the network was extended to east Africa and, by the end of 2009, North Star had opened 14 Wellness Centres in nine countries across eastern and southern Africa.

Also in 2009, North Star was joined by ORTEC, one of the largest providers of logistics software solutions. ORTEC had already been instrumental in designing North Star’s Corridor Medical Transfer System (COMETS) and the partnership enabled North Star to provide patients with access to their healthcare information at any Wellness Centre in the network.

Finally, in December 2009, North Star became North Star Alliance, with the new name reinforcing the inclusive partnerships among the five organisations and the long-term solutions that, collectively, they bring to this urgent public health challenge.