Goodyear Renews Sponsorship of Transaid

Goodyear has renewed its sponsorship support for leading international development organization Transaid for a period of one more year. The tire manufacturer’s association with Transaid first began in 2015.

With the renewal of the sponsorship, the company is further reinforcing its support for the life-saving projects that Transaid is carrying out in sub-Saharan Africa. Goodyear makes a financial contribution that helps Transaid to provide highly needed unrestricted funding for the testing and implementation of new program in the region that can enhance road safety and access to healthcare.

Goodyear has also agreed to provide funds for a new bicycle ambulance which will help to scale up the MAMaZ Against Malaria program in Zambia. Through this program, Transaid had demonstrated how a functioning supply chain can help to save the lives of many children.

Goodyear had donated its first Goodyear-branded bicycle ambulance in 2015, to support Transaid’s implementation of a local Emergency Transport Scheme (ETS) to provide access for communities in remote areas. Earlier, the members of these communities had to make long walks on foot in order to access medical facilities.

Commenting on the extension of the sponsorship, David Howe, Commercial Sales General Manager at Goodyear said that the company first became involved with Transaid because it wanted to help improve the lives of people in Africa. He expressed his delight at impact that Goodyear’s sponsorship has made in such a short period of time. According to Howe, the decision to renew the sponsorship became very simple when Goodyear realized that its first bicycle ambulance had already helped to save lives. If all goes as planned, the second bicycle ambulance will be provided to a community early in 2019.

Goodyear’s latest bicycle ambulance donation will be used to directly support a project that is being implemented with the goal of increasing access to malaria medicines for young children, based on the outstanding results that a 12-month pilot project in the Serenje district in Zambia had. During the trial period, there were just three recorded deaths from severe child malaria, a significant improvement when compared to the figure of 97 deaths that would taken place otherwise based on historic data.

Caroline Barber, CEO of Transaid said: “Our corporate members are essential to the success of Transaid, and we’re delighted Goodyear has renewed its support for another three years. They are a fantastic team to work with, and we are excited for what we can continue to achieve together.”

Transaid is an organization which enjoys the patronage of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal of UK. It was established 20 years ago by Save the Children and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK). Its work revolves around the belief that every driver should be able to go out for a day’s work without the fear they may not come home due to dangerous vehicles or a lack of training; that every family should have access to emergency health services; and that every community should be able to build skills and transform their opportunity to make a living.