Providing Infrastructure, Road Safety Education to Benefit Primary School Children At High Risk of Road Traffic Injury in Gaborone
November 20, 2018
GABORONE, November 20, 2018—FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company and a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), together with Amend, an international NGO, and the Society of Road Safety Ambassadors, a local NGO, have today launched a road safety program that provides lifesaving infrastructure and road safety education to benefit primary schoolchildren at high risk of road traffic injury in Gaborone. The program aims to implement proven-effective road safety measures around Bophirima Primary School and surrounding areas.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 1.2 million people die on the world’s roads every year[1]. Among the most vulnerable road users in Botswana 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 Bophirima Primary School. After a school-area site analysis and consultation with the government and the community, footpaths, zebra crossings, road signs, and bollards were installed. These measures have proven to be effective in reducing road traffic injury among child pedestrians by separating children from traffic, ensuring 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 Bophirima Primary School demonstrate that simple yet effective measures can be implemented across schools in Botswana to reduce the number of road traffic injuries among children.
“FedEx holds safety above all in everything we do. With more than 185,000 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 Mike Higley, vice president of FedEx Express Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We’re proud to work with organizations like Amend and the Society of Road Safety Ambassadors to provide our expertise and resources to help bring down the number of injuries and fatalities on the world’s roads” concluded Higley.
The Mayor of Gaborone, Hon. Kagiso Thutlwe stated: “Reducing speed on roads where children live, and where they walk or cycle to school is urgent. This is a cost effective public health intervention and has proven to be a ‘vaccine’ for road crashes. Many thanks go to FedEx for supporting the road safety improvements around Bophirima Primary School.”
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs358/en/
https://about.van.fedex.com/newsroom/fedex-supports-safe-school-area-initiative-in-botswana/