LILONGWE, November 13, 2020—FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company and a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), together with Amend, an international non-governmental organization (NGO); and the Centre for Youth and Children Affairs, a local NGO, have launched a road safety program that provides lifesaving infrastructure and road safety education to benefit primary school children at high risk of road traffic injury in Lilongwe, Malawi. The program aims to implement proven-effective road safety measures around Chiwoko Primary School and surrounding areas.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 1.35 million people die on the world’s roads every year[1]. Among the most vulnerable road users in Malawi are child pedestrians, who face grave risks walking to and from school every day.
Further reports highlight that a child in Africa is twice as likely to die on the roads compared to a child in any other region of the world[2].
FedEx is collaborating with NGOs to improve pedestrian infrastructure around the Chiwoko Primary School, where seven road traffic injuries among students have been reported in recent years. After a school-area site analysis and consultation with the government and the community, footpaths, zebra crossings, road signs, and speed humps were installed. These measures have proven to be effective in reducing road traffic injury among child pedestrians by separating children from traffic, helping to ensure that traffic slows down near schools, and alerting drivers to the presence of child pedestrians in the area.
Pupils at the school also received customized education about being safe on or near roads. These activities in and around the Chiwoko Primary School demonstrate that simple yet effective measures can be implemented across schools in Malawi to reduce the number of road traffic injuries among children.
“FedEx holds safety above all in everything we do. With more than 180,000 vehicles on the world’s roads, safety is part of our DNA. Our experience and culture of safety is why FedEx has worked with some of the world’s leading road safety NGOs to address infrastructure and the safety of vulnerable road users—especially children,” said Abby Bailey, Communications and Community Engagement Manager, FedEx Express Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa.
“We’re proud to work with organizations like Amend and the Centre for Youth and Children Affairs to provide our expertise and resources to help bring down the number of injuries and fatalities on the world’s roads” concluded Bailey.
[1]http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs358/en/
[2]https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2017/02/19/school-children-in-africa-to-benefit-from-1-75-million-usd-for-road-safety/#235a79f94864