Promoting Road Safety to Children and Youth in Cuba
Sherritt is committed to the health and safety of our employees and the communities around our operations. That is why we are thrilled to partner with UNICEF once again in support of Principle 4 of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles – ensuring the protection and safety of children in all business activities. As part of the partnership announced in 2018, Sherritt will support over three years UNICEF’s Child Road Traffic Injury Prevention Program to promote road safety among young people in Cuba.
Road safety is a priority for both the company and the country of Cuba, as unintentional injuries caused by road accidents are the leading cause of mortality among youth and adolescents.
The program builds on UNICEF’s extensive experience with road safety, which is a key component of its Country Programme (2014–2018) and which has already shown successful results at the national level and in La Havana and Santiago de Cuba provinces. With Sherritt’s support, and in collaboration with Cuba’s ministries of Health and Education, the National Road Safety Commission and local governments, the program reaches the provinces of Matanzas and Holguin, including Moa and Cárdenas where Sherritt operates.
The intention of this program is to:
- Increase families’ awareness of how to prevent road accidents through communication initiatives aimed at social and behavioural change.
- Strengthen road safety education of children and adolescents, with emphasis on those most vulnerable.
- Strengthen policies to protect children by ensuring experience and best practices are shared among institutions, mass organizations, professionals on road safety, and child victims of road accidents.
- Support Sherritt’s deep commitment to social responsibility and direct engagement on issues affecting children.
In 2018,
- Over 300 students from five primary schools in Holguin participated in a student interest group with 200 community members and representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of the Interior and Holguin’s Provincial Commission for Road Safety, to strengthen students’ cognitive abilities and raise their awareness on practical road safety measures.
- A second event was held with 150 primary and secondary students to improve their knowledge and understanding about the National Road Safety Code.
- A workshop on Road Safety, Vehicle Safety and Technical Review was held November 8–9 in Holguin Province with the objective of improving road safety knowledge and skills to improve and enhance the safety of road transport in the region. About 184 specialists and government officials (including the Ministry of Transport, the Provincial Department of Transportation, and the Road Safety and Vehicle Registration Department of the Ministry of the Interior) from the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguín and Las Tunas participated in the meeting.
This partnership builds on years of mutually beneficial collaboration between Sherritt and UNICEF in Madagascar. Sherritt and UNICEF are proud to partner again to work towards the achievement of SDG 3.6 – to halve the number of global deaths from injuries and road traffic accidents by 2020. For more information about the history of this relationship, click here.
Credit: UNICEF Cuba/Gonzalo Bell