Times like this serve to remind us all of the importance of timely access to healthcare.
With our support, Transaid has been hard at work on the MAMaZ Against Malaria (MAM) programme in Zambia. MAM is reducing child mortality from severe malaria through a combination of community education, access to malaria pre-treatment rectal artesunate (RAS), and improved access to health facilities through bicycle ambulances.
Anshal is one of the Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) who has been trained through the programme to recognise the danger signs of severe malaria. However, his training was tested to the limit when his own son, Wiseman, fell seriously ill, and started convulsing.
“We were terrified,” Anshal admits. Nevertheless, he immediately identified that his son could have severe malaria. After administering RAS to calm Wiseman’s symptoms, he transported his son 35km on a bicycle ambulance to the nearest health facility. There, Wiseman received further treatment.
“Wiseman is now strong again and playing exactly the way he was before,” Anshal says. “Previously, there was no hope. There were so many cases of severe malaria here and there was nothing anyone could do. Now, I am very happy, without this project, anything could have happened to my son.”
Our employee-led, community engagement activity sees us lend our support to numerous community and charity groups at home and abroad. We have been a proud corporate partner of the Transaid charity since 2015, and have been using our telematics and transport management expertise to support its projects, with staff spearheading fundraising activities throughout the year.
About Transaid
Founded by Save the Children, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), and its Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, the international development organisation shares 25 years’ worth of expertise in 23 countries with partners and governments – empowering people to build the skills they need to transform their own lives.
