Your support will help us to continue our essential work in sub-Saharan Africa, improving rural access to healthcare, and strengthening professional driver training standards.

Malaria continues to pose a major threat to rural communities and particularly children under five, with Africa being home to 96% of all malaria deaths. Africa is also home to 70% of global maternal deaths. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations has set targets to end the epidemic of malaria and reduce the global maternal mortality ratio.

Transaid is focused on achieving this target, our MAMaZ and MAMaZ Against Malaria programmes utilise Emergency Transport Schemes (ETS) to provide a vital link between rural communities and health services. MAMaZ Against Malaria has seen an 87% reduction in the number of children dying from severe malaria.

When Esther Chibuye went into labour with her son Rogers, she utilised a bicycle ambulance implemented through the MAMaZ programme to reach the health facility and deliver safely.

An estimated 1.19 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes, with African roads being some of the deadliest in the world. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations has set an ambitious target to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road crashes by 2030.

Transaid aims to improve road safety through professional driver training programmes across sub-Saharan Africa. In the last year, Transaid has trained almost 11,000 drivers and 60 trainers at Transaid-supported training centres in Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, and Kenya. Emmanuel Danso is a driver trainer in Ghana, who trained with Transaid's Professional Driver Training - Ghana programme.

Supporting Transaid's Christmas Appeal means helping more women like Esther to deliver safely at a health facility, and people like Emmanuel to train more drivers to drive safely on the roads.

£50 could fund training for a motorcycle rider in Kenya, where Transaid has been working since 2021 to establish a National Helmet Wearing Coalition. This project aims to reduce the severity of motorcycle-related head injuries and fatalities on the country’s roads, and develop the solutions to make Kenyan journeys safer. Now in its third phase, the coalition is working to establish one of the first helmet testing laboratories in East Africa, whilst also working with government to strengthen enforcement for helmet wearing, and advocate for a regional focus on motorcycle safety within the East African Community.

£125 could fund a bicycle for a Community Health Volunteer (CHV). CHVs are the backbone of the health system in rural Zambia, where they provide invaluable health advice to their communities, which are located far from health facilities. CHVs are working to combat severe malaria by educating families on the danger signs, administering RAS (rectal artesunate), a pre-treatment for children with suspected severe malaria, and referring patients to health facilities for further treatment.

£300 could fund training for a female driver in Ghana or Uganda. Several of our programmes are focused around championing female inclusion in the transport and logistics sector, and the Professional Driver Training Uganda project aims to increase the number of female HGV and PSV drivers on the road. Uganda is experiencing a huge rise in demand for professional drivers which is expected to increase over the coming years, and Transaid believes that encouraging more women into the sector will benefit transport companies, contribute to improved safety and generate new career opportunities for women.

£550 could fund a bicycle ambulance for a rural community. The bicycle ambulance helps women, children and men in rural communities in Africa to reach vital health services when they are most needed, it is a simple but much needed solution that can make a huge difference.

With your help, we can continue to transform lives through safe, available, and sustainable transport. See here for more information on our programmes.