Prudence Foundation Expands “SAFE STEPS Road Safety” Programme into Africa

International Footballer Didier Drogba As Ambassador of Ground-Breaking Programme

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HONG KONG,
CHINA - Media OutReach - 29 October 2019 – Prudence
Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa, announced
today that it has teamed up with international footballer Didier Drogba, together
with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Didier Drogba
Foundation and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC), to launch SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa.

Globally, 1.35
million people are killed on the roads every year, including 500 children every
day. Road-related crashes are the number one cause of death of 5 to 29-year
olds and continue to be a serious issue in both developing and developed
nations. Africa has the highest road fatality rate in the world and 44 percent
of road traffic deaths are pedestrians and cyclists. In addition, although
Africa has only 2 percent of the world’s cars, the continent accounts for 20
percent of road deaths worldwide.[1]

SAFE STEPS
Road Safety Africa, an extension of the ground-breaking, pan-Asia SAFE STEPS Road
Safety programme, uses multiple platforms including on-air videos, an
informative website and print material that can be shared through
community-based activities and partnerships to raise awareness of the world’s
leading cause of death by providing clear and simple life-saving information.

Core to the
programme is a series of 60-second public service announcement videos featuring
SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa Ambassador Didier Drogba who advises on key
topics on road safety, namely drink driving, distracted driving, seat belts,
speed limits, motor cycles and pedestrians. All messages are approved by IFRC
which will also be leveraging the programme across its African network.

Ivory Coast is
the first country in Africa to launch SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa. With
support from the Government of Ivory Coast, the programme was officially launched
in Abidjan on 25 October by H.E. Amadou Koné, Minister of Transport, in the presence of Didier
Drogba, Marc Fancy, Executive Director of Prudence Foundation, and Jean Todt,
President of FIA and United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road
Safety.

Marc Fancy said,
“Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and
Africa, is committed to protecting the future of communities by enhancing their
education, health and safety. Following the success of SAFE STEPS Road Safety
in Asia, we are delighted to be launching the new SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa
campaign in the Ivory Coast. We believe that with Didier leading this
pan-Africa campaign, the messages on road safety will be able to reach millions
of Africans and contribute to making Africa’s roads safer and help save lives.”

Jean Todt said, “The road safety crisis
must be quickly and effectively addressed, especially in Africa where the
mortality rates are higher than in the rest of the world. With awareness campaigns
such as SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa, we want to make people conscious of the
dangers they are exposed to when they don’t respect simple safety rules on the
road.”

Didier Drogba said, “Road
traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in Ivory Coast. Children and
pedestrians are the most vulnerable. We have an obligation to further protect
our people by educating them and teaching them the best practices to save
lives. The statistics are alarming! It seems obvious to me to get involved to
support such a cause, so that we can change things as soon as possible!”

Dr Simon
Missiri, IFRC Regional Director for Africa a.i., said, “We are increasingly
concerned about the escalation of the road safety crisis. Road crashes not only
take lives, they also take up much-needed health care resources in communities
that often suffer from other severe health issues. Urgent action is need in
order to reverse this trend. One of IFRC’s priorities is to build a culture of
risk reduction and prevention and this includes improving road safety to save
lives and build safer communities.”  

Notes to the Editor:

Relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to Road
Safety:

SDG
3: Good Health and Well Being

• 3.2: By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5
  years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at
  least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as
  low as 25 per 1,000 live births.
• 3.6: By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road
  traffic accidents.

 

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and
  sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by
  expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in
  vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older
  persons.

About SAFE STEPS

SAFE STEPS is
created and developed by Prudence Foundation and is a partnership with the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),
National Geographic and the FIA for the road safety programme. At its core,
SAFE STEPS comprises of three programmes addressing Natural Disasters, Road
Safety and First Aid. Each programme consists of a series of public service
announcement videos, online and print materials that aim to raise awareness and
provide easy-to-understand educational information on each of these
life-threatening issues in the hope of saving lives and building more resilient
communities. In Asia, the SAFE STEPS programmes reach more than 250 million
people every day via multi-sector partnerships and platforms.

 

SAFE STEPS Road
Safety Africa is Prudence Foundation’s new campaign for the African continent.
In partnership with the FIA, the IFRC and the Drogba Foundation and with Didier
Drogba as its Ambassador, the campaign aims to reach as many Africans as
possible in an effort to raise awareness and education on road safety and save
lives. Following the same model in Asia, the campaign will be distributed
across Africa via multi-sector partnerships and platforms including the IFRC’s
African network.

About Prudence Foundation

Prudence
Foundation is the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa.
Its mission is to secure the future of communities by enhancing education,
health and safety. The Foundation runs regional programmes as well as local
programmes in partnership with NGOs, governments and the private sector in
order to maximise the impact of its efforts. Prudence Foundation leverages
Prudential’s long-term mindset and geographical scale to make communities
safer, more secure and more resilient. The Foundation is a Hong Kong registered
charitable entity.

For more
information: www.prudencefoundation.com   

About the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile

The Fédération
Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) is the governing body for world motor
sport and the federation of the world’s leading motoring organisations.

Founded in
1904, with headquarters in Paris and Geneva, the FIA is a non-profit
organisation. It brings together 240 Member Organisations from 144 countries on
five continents. Its Member Clubs represent over 70 million road users and their
families.

The FIA
promotes safe, sustainable and accessible mobility for all road users around
the world.

For more
information: www.fia.com

About IFRC

IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian
network, comprising 190 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies working
to save lives and promote dignity around the world.

For more information
about IFRC: www.ifrc.org

About Prudential Corporation Asia

Prudential Corporation Asia is a business unit of Prudential
plc (United Kingdom)*, comprising its life insurance operations in Asia, and
its asset management business, Eastspring Investments. 

Prudential is a leading life insurer with operations spanning
12 markets in Asia, covering Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Prudential has a robust multi-channel distribution platform providing a
comprehensive range of savings, investment and protection products to meet the
diverse needs of Asian families.

Eastspring Investments manages investments across Asia on
behalf of a wide range of retail and institutional investors. It is one of the
region’s largest asset managers with a presence in 11 major Asian markets plus
distribution offices in North America and Europe. It has £169 billion (about
US$216 billion) in assets under management (as at 30 June 2019), managing funds
across a range of asset classes including equities and fixed income.

*Prudential
plc is an Asia-led portfolio of businesses focused on structural growth
markets. The business helps individuals to de-risk their lives and deal with
their biggest financial concerns through life and health insurance, and
retirement and asset management solutions. Prudential plc has 20 million
customers and is listed on stock exchanges in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and
New York.

Prudential
plc is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc., a company
whose principal place of business is in the United States of America or with
the Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company
incorporated in the United Kingdom.

For more information: www.prudentialcorporation-asia.com