International development organisation Transaid, which has strong backing from the UK logistics industry, works with communities, partners, and governments to solve transport challenges throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
The organisation, with the active involvement of its patron, HRH The Princess Royal, has been involved in several new projects recently, concerning road safety and access to health – two of the biggest transport challenges in the region.
For example, John Heirs, Construction Training and Compliance Manager at The Malcolm Group, recently completed his fourth secondment for Transaid, spending two weeks training three new HGV driver trainers at the Industrial Training Centre (ITC) in Lusaka, Zambia.
Heirs’ first three secondments took place at the National Institute of Transport (NIT) in Dar es Salaam in 2015, 2016, and 2020, playing a key role in supporting Transaid’s longstanding Professional Driver Training Project in Tanzania.
Malcolm Group has been a Transaid corporate partner since 2014, during which time it has provided financial contributions, staff secondments, and vehicle donations, as well as helped staff to participate in Transaid’s frequent cycle challenges, raising additional funds to support the organisation’s work.
Transaid has been supporting the ITC since August 2008, with a focus on building the capacity to deliver professional HGV and PSV driver training.
Heirs said: “I wanted to deliver a training input that made these driver trainers feel confident in their ability to train others.
“The skills that keep you safe on the road are universal, and critically important. I know everyone came out of the sessions feeling like they’d learned something new, myself included.”
Meanwhile, Transaid has secured grant funding from Lloyd’s Register Foundation for a six-month project to strengthen access to health and road safety messaging at the Mombasa port enclave in Kenya, specifically focusing on commercial drivers.
Transaid will work in conjunction with North Star Alliance, operating out of its Jomvu Roadside Wellness Centre in Mombasa, located along the Northern Corridor near the port enclave, to target long-distance drivers at the start of their journeys.
The facility was constructed from converted shipping containers and provides primary healthcare services, including HIV prevention and infectious disease screening, from trained clinical teams.
Key messaging around improved cargo and road safety, developed in partnership with transport industry leaders, will also be placed in local clinics.
Sam Clark, Head of Programmes for Transaid, said: “The amount of time drivers spend on the road limits their access to healthcare and up-to-date information such as road safety risks.
“Our goal with this project is to improve access to all of these without making big changes to their normal day-to-day activities.
“This project is about reducing risk and enhancing the safety of all road users. Professional drivers are critical to the distribution of goods, and it’s important they have access to the necessary services they need to stay healthy, plus information which will help them to operate safely in their roles.”
Transaid has also secured funding from the Puma Energy Foundation to lead a new two and a half-year project supporting the nationwide rollout of a new HGV driver training standard in Ghana.
Its selection to lead the work follows more than three years’ experience working in Ghana, where it developed the training standard and built driver training capacity at the institutional level.
The new project has begun in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, 186 miles north of the capital, Accra, and set to be home to a new inland container depot opening later this year.
Transaid will support Ghana’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) with examiner trainings, in turn helping to realise the authority’s ambition to have a uniform approach to HGV driver assessment throughout the country.
The development organisation will also facilitate regional dialogue with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and member states, focused on the regional harmonisation of HGV driver training standards, in line with the ECOWAS Regional Road Safety Action Plan.
To-date, 12 driver trainers from seven different institutions have completed theory and practical training which aligns with the new standard, with four advancing to the level of master trainer following the completion of additional training.
In total, more than 2,000 HGV drivers have already received training in accordance with the new standard which is derived from 18 theory and five practical modules, each crafted specifically for the Ghanaian context.
Clark said: “We are incredibly proud that the Ghanaian government has launched the new HGV standard which the team has been working towards for three years.
“Going forward, Transaid will support the rollout and advocate for harmonised standards in the ECOWAS region.”
Earlier this year, a group of 12 Transaid corporate partners returned from a self-funded visit to Zambia, where they had the opportunity to visit two of the international development organisation’s projects, spanning access to health and road safety.
This included a 500-mile round trip by road into rural parts of Serenje and Chitambo Districts to meet with local partners and see Transaid’s maternal health and malaria projects, as well as a day at the ITC in Lusaka, where Transaid has been helping to deliver professional driver training for 16 years.
Some members of the group used the visit to deliver training themselves, with Matthew Kibble, Managing Director and former owner of Matthew Kibble Transport, providing a series of lectures to students at the ITC.
Other industry participants included representatives from Wincanton, Brigade Electronics, Michelin and Dawsongroup truck and trailer.
Chris Slater, Finance Director of the RHA, worked with the ITC’s finance team to further understand and explore the scope to improve financial processes and controls.
“It was truly a remarkable and overwhelming visit to Zambia to see the great work that Transaid and its partners are doing to help communities fight malaria and improve access to healthcare, as well as to support with professional driver training”, Slater added.
“We have a responsibility to spread the message on the great work being done by Transaid and highlight how our partners can support this great cause.”
For more information and to find out how you can support the organisation visit www.transaid.org
