Credit: UNICEF Cuba
Promoting Road Safety to Children and Youth in Cuba
Sherritt is committed to the health and safety of its employees and the communities around its operations. That is why we have partnered with UNICEF 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, over three years Sherritt will support UNICEF’s Child Road Traffic Injury Prevention Programme 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 (2014–2019), and has already shown successful results at the national level and in La Habana 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 supports 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 that 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 2019:
- A Children’s festival, “Painting Under the Sun”, was held in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Five hundred children and adolescents along with 150 adults participated in activities hosted by UNICEF and the National Road Safety Commission. Children increased their knowledge of traffic laws and how to be safe on the road through artistic activities designed to increase their interest in the subject and encourage information sharing.
- In recognition of UN Global Road Safety Week and National Road Safety Day (May
6–12 ), a variety of events were held in La Havana, Moa, Holguin and Matanzas Province. Over 1,000 children, teachers and families attended events focused on sharing good practices in road safety education and health promotion, including first aid, responsible road culture and positive attitudes towards road safety. - Another event was held where 750 children and 550 adults participated in a series of road safety awareness activities at primary and secondary schools. These science, sport, recreational and cultural activities promoted road safety awareness and the integration of different sectors of society.
- An academic meeting for road safety in the national education system was held with 100 delegates, 115 children with disabilities from the Amistad Cuba-Vietnam school, 145 teachers and 70 parents. This meeting included education intervention on means and methods of teaching about road education.
- By the end of 2019, the road safety program had educated approximately 8,000 children and adults since our support commenced.
This partnership builds on years of mutually beneficial collaboration between Sherritt and UNICEF in Cuba. 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.