City authorities are calling for creation of special safety measures meant to protect school going
children from road traffic accidents.
The proposal has been made by Juliana Kaduya, Mayor for Lilongwe city when she presided over the launch of road safety Program at Chiwoko Primary School in Lilongwe.
The Program that aims at implementing effective road safety measures for school children is being supported by international NGOs Amend, Center for Youth and Children Affairs with support from an international transportation company FedEx Express.
Currently, the World Health Organization estimates that more than 1.35 million people die on the
world’s roads every year.
In Malawi, child pedestrians are the most vulnerable to accidents and further observations follow that it is school going children who fall victim. In response, FedEx in collaboration with the NGOs
developed a special initiative meant to among other things assist learners crossing roads in Lilongwe be safe from accidents.
For example, this year alone, about seven learners have sustained injuries due to accidents around the school.
In welcoming the development, Jane Kankwatira Chiwoko Primary School Head Teacher, said the facilities will help ensure the safety of children at the school.
13 year old Innocent Joseph who is in standard 7 at the school, said the infrastructure is a motivation to pupils at the school as many were afraid to come to school because they could not cross the road.
“I am very happy today, because the tarmac road outside our school is always busy and we were finding it difficult to cross the road, now there are signs and an infrastructure that will help us cross the road easily” he said.
On his part, Abby Bailey, communications and community Engagement Manager for FedEx Express Middle East expressed its commitment to provide expertise and resources in order to bring down the number of injuries and fatalities on the world’s roads.
