Current Projects (click a headline to read on)
March: Transaid on National Television
On Monday 2nd March, a major Transaid project, the MORE MAMaZ programme, was showcased on national television during BBC Two’s Let’s Play Darts for Comic Relief, as part of the build-up to Comic Relief, taking place on Friday 13th March 2015.
February: Transaid establishes a new partnership in Madagascar
This February, Transaid started a new partnership with the Malagasy non-governmental organisation Lalana. This five-year relationship will focus on the promotion, development and implementation of initiatives and projects aiming to improve transport for development throughout the country.
January: A grant from Comic Relief funds a programme to reduce maternal mortality in Zambia by improving rural access to services
Funding of £1.83 million from Comic Relief to the MORE MAMaZ programme (Mobilising Access to Maternal Health Services in Zambia) will provide vital access to maternal health services in Zambia.
December: HRH The Princess Royal praises Transaid’s achievements during the annual showcase
Royal Patron praised the life-saving work of the charity after the organisation revealed it is now delivering more programmes in more countries to help improve road safety than ever before.
November: Transaid delivers its first training in Uganda
Transaid has rolled out the initial 12 month programme to expand its professional driver training initiative into third country, after the programme successfully increased standards of commercial driver training methods in Zambia and Tanzania.
October: Mobile phones, mobility and transport in Africa: Transaid presents at the African Studies Association UK biennial conference
During the ASAUK biennial conference held at the University of Sussex presenters shared information focusing on newly emerging linkages between mobile phones, transport and mobility in Africa. Transaid shared experiences of how the prevalence of mobile phones in rural Africa can support efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.
September: Forklift Truck Training for students in National Institute of Transport
A UK training manager from Mentor Training has spent two weeks in Africa raising the teaching standards of forklift truck driving instructors to help ensure newly qualified drivers know how to safely operate the machines.
August: Bicycle shops in Madagascar provide new sources of revenue for volunteer health workers
With the goal of motivating Community Health Workers in Madagascar Transaid has recently begun implementing Income Generating Activities, starting in the districts of Antsohihy and Bealanana in Sofia Region. These activities will also help to improve the standard of living of community health actors and contribute to the sustainability of their volunteer efforts towards community health.
July: Pullman Fleet Services support in Zambia for the second time as part of the Professional Driver Training Project
Pullman volunteers supported the Professional Driver Training Project in conducting comprehensive vehicle inspections of their training fleet and to ensure maximum sustainable vehicle availability for driver training programmes.
June: The Professional Driver Training Project is expanding into Uganda
Building on the successes of the project in Zambia and Tanzania, Transaid is expanding the PDTP into Uganda later this year. With the endorsement of the Central Transit Transport Facilitation Agency, Transaid will work in partnership with Safe Way, Right Way to support private driving schools; through helping build the skills of their instructors in training both bus and truck drivers.
May: Translating transport management knowledge into policy and practice with the Ministry of Health in Zanzibar
Following the emergency transport workshop, organised in March in Tanzania, the Ministry of Health in Zanzibar requested Transaid’s support with transport management training, situational analysis and policy guidelines. This input is supported by the African Community Access Programme (AFCAP) and aims at improving transport for health particularly in a rural context with tangible outcomes.
April: Transaid organises international workshop in Tanzania to improve emergency transport in Africa
A workshop in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, brought together emergency transport stakeholders from over ten different countries to discuss and explore how to improve emergency transport across sub-Saharan Africa. This workshop was funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, through the African Community Access Programme (AFCAP) which is managed by Crown Agents.
March: Using transport to improve access to community health services in Madagascar
The MAHEFA programme - MAlagasy HEniky ny FAhasalamana (or MAlagasy HEalthy FAmilies) – brings improved basic family and community health services to isolated Malagasy communities. From 2011, with USAID funding, Transaid partnered with JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) and the Manoff Group to improve the use of community health interventions and services, the supply of essential health commodities, and access to health to the Malagasy communities in remote northern and western parts of the island.
February: Increasing mobility of Community Health Workers in Madagascar
On the large, remote, southern African island of Madagascar its hard-to-reach Malagasy communities endure high endemic poverty and a recent history of civil strife. In 2011 Transaid partnered with JSI Training and Research Institute, Inc. (JSI) and The Manoff Group in a major USAID funded project, to reach out to communities in northern and western parts of the island.
January: The Emergency Transport Scheme endorsed by key stakeholders in Adamawa State, Nigeria
According to the World Health Organisation Nigeria’s Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is one of the 10 highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Transaid is implementing the five-year Emergency Transport Scheme funded by Comic Relief that aims to reduce maternal mortality rates by improving access to health facilities for women with pregnancy-related complications.
December: Field research in Tanzania on rural transport operator associations
Transaid conducted field research in Tanzania to assess the role of transport operator associations in shaping transport services in rural Africa. This research was funded by the Africa Community Access Programme (AFCAP) which promotes safe and sustainable access to markets, healthcare, education, employment and social and political networks for rural communities in Africa.
November: Tandem Bicycle Ambulance trialed in rural Zambia
The bicycle ambulance trailers proved to be a life saving form of transport in rural areas and able to significantly reduce the average journey time to health facilities in emergencies. In Eastern Province of Zambia, Transaid has been trialing new and unique design of tandem bicycle ambulance and assessing whether this new model can bring even more benefits to the community.
October: Needs Assessment in Western Uganda
Transaid conducted a needs assessment which looks at the need for an Emergency Transport Scheme (ETS) in Western districts of Uganda. The project is funded by the American pharmaceutical company Merck and aims to improve understanding about the challenges that pregnant women have in accessing maternal healthcare and expand women’s access to promising solutions for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), infection and pre-eclampsia).
September: Engineers from National Express to aid in the Professional Driver Training Program in Tanzania
In September, National Express deployed two of their highly experienced engineers on a two week charity placement in Tanzania. During their placement the engineers worked with Transaid’s partner organization the National Institute of Transport (NIT) to assess their engineering capabilities and to train local instructors in a variety of required subjects.
August: The TrAIDe project to help improve livelihoods in Ethiopia
In rural Ethiopia between 40 and 70 percent of harvests are lost due to poor transportation and warehousing. Farmers travel up to 5 hours to get to market and so quality of produce is compromised which then reduces farmers’ incomes. In response Transaid, the Kuehne Foundation and the Hawassa University, have implemented the Transport, Agriculture and Integrated Development (TrAIDe) project in the area of Halaba in Southern Ethiopia. They have also acquired the help of FARM Africa, the Cooperative College and local cooperatives in Ethiopia.
July: Transaid assists in the assessment of driver training institutions in Cambodia
Transaid has partnered with the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) to assess the capability of driver training institutions in Siem Reap Province, Kingdom of Cambodia. The ‘Proactive Partnership Strategy’ project aimed to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to reducing death and injury on roads at the municipal level, as well as to promote a road safety culture within the province.
June: Linking Rural Communities with Health Services in West Africa
Transaid has finalised outcomes of an 18-month research project in West Africa that assessed effectiveness of the ambulance services in meeting the needs of rural communities. The African Community Access Programme (AFCAP) was commissioned and funded by Department for International Development (DfID) to contribute to understanding of the role that poor physical access plays in delaying appropriate care for women with maternal health complication.
May: Harmonising professional driver training standards across regional borders
Since the inception of its Professional Driver Training Project Transaid has been working to harmonise international driver training standards across Africa and advocating to national governments the need to adopt one unified approach. In May Levy Kamanga, Director of the Industrial Training Centre in Zambia and Transaid’s Regional Coordinator for the Professional Driver Training Project and Joseph Nkamba the Principal Officer for Examination at Zambia's Road Transport & Safety Agency visited Tanzania to discuss the opportunities for development of this vital road safety project.
April: Transaid receives an Honorable Mention during the IRF 2012 InARoaD Awards
The InARoaD award recognizes exemplary projects that have made real impact on transport in developing countries; that are innovative, sustainable and represent good practices in this field. Earlier this year Transaid received an Honorable Mention in road safety category for its Professional Driver Training Project in Zambia.
Transaid presents Needs Assessment Report as its work in Madagascar reaches an important milestone
Eighty percent of the Malagasy population live in difficult to access, rural locations which can only be entered by secondary roads, waterways, or paths. Some of the most remote locations in Madagascar can be inaccessible up to 6-8 months of the year due to the rainy season. Transaid uses its expertise to provide those communities with access to health care, ultimately reducing very high maternal and child mortality rates.
Transaid works to improve vaccine distribution in Benin
Transaid recently joined forces with AMP (Agence de Médecine Préventive) in Benin, West Africa, to improve vaccine distribution and help reduce child mortality from vaccine-preventable disease, in concordance with Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets.
Tanzania, behaviour change workshop for freight drivers
In June Transaid organised the first ever behaviour and attitude change workshop for 100 commercial freight drivers. This was part of the World Bank road safety project that is working to promote cooperation between the road transport operators and the public authorities along the Central Corridor in Eastern Africa which covers Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
Malawi, bicycle ambulances help to save lives
In 2010 Transaid was approached by the Malawian organisation, the Landirani Trust, and asked for an advice on the use of bicycle ambulances for transferring patients in rural areas. Since then Transaid has been working with the trust supporting their mission to help orphaned children in remote villages of Lilongwe district to get to health facilities.
Zambia, introducing community-led and managed transport to improve child and maternal health
Each day in Zambia, eight women die due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth*. Transaid has been working since 2010 to improve child and maternal health in this country through the MAMaZ programme (Mobilising Access to Maternal Health Services in Zambia).
Uganda, Transaid helps facilitate transport workshop for Ugandan Cooperatives
Transaid took part in a workshop funded by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in November 2011 which brought 15 Ugandan Cooperatives from a variety of products together to share their experiences and challenges faced when accessing transport
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