Photo credit: Child Health Initiative 2018
7 November 2018: It was announced in Jamaica that life saving infrastructure will be scaled-up to 17 more schools across the country.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica – Andrew Holness and the programme partners (Child Health Initiative, UNICEF Jamaica, JN Foundation and the FIA Foundation), launched the first safe infrastructure to keep children safe on the journey to school. The new infrastructure is a key outcome of the partnership between the FIA Foundation and UNICEF which involves Jamaica as one of nine participating countries.
A year ago, when the Child Health Initiative brought together Amend, iRAP (Star Rating for Schools), UNICEF Jamaica and JN Foundation to assess road safety at Hazard Primary School, they discovered that the school children had no protection on their journey to school. It was found to have a ‘one-star’ safety rating, exposing the children to an unacceptable level of risk every day.
In 2018, safe infrastructure has been implemented around the school, including a safe crossing, speed humps and a safe sidewalk. Many of the children travel to school by bus or taxi and a dedicated drop-off area has been created, with the sidewalk giving safe access to the school.
Avi Silverman FIA Foundation Deputy Director said: “Through the Child Health Initiative and its partners, we have been calling for safe and healthy school journeys for children everywhere. The work here in Jamaica is an important step forward towards this. To see the first safe road infrastructure being implemented in low-income communities and then scaled-up across the country shows what kind of impact is possible. The level of engagement among both children and the wider community is also impressive. We hope the government and its partners can continue to build upon this work serving as a leading example worldwide.”
See the announcement via the Child Health Initiative Twitter feed below or click here
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