SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
In 2015, world leaders at a UN Summit adopted 17 goals as part of a new sustainable development agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, identified the needs and aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030. A bicycle delivers on these SDGs! Improving access (to health care, education, water, work and income, etc.) is crucial for development. And mobility is an essential element of development strategies that aim to achieve the SDGs. In Sub-Saharan Africa more than 75 percent of the total daily trips by Africa’s poor are done on foot. The lack of affordable, efficient and reliable transportation affects economic and social development in regions where distance is a barrier. Improving access to basic needs can help achieve SDGs that benefit these regions. Often overlooked as a tool for development, the bicycle can be the driving force for global progress. A bicycle rider saves hours of precious time, can carry five times as much cargo and quadruples his/her capture area compared to someone who walks. A bicycle makes the difference in developing rural areas. And is a cross-cutting intervention that immediately delivers on improving livelihoods and educational and health care outcomes. The unique access and mobility approach of Cycling out of Poverty Foundation delivers on 10 (or more) of the 17 SDGs and creates long-term sustainable change in developing countries.
OUR BICYCLE INTERVENTIONS DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO ACHIEVING TEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
SDG 1 A bicycle is an affordable and simple mode of transport improving access to education, jobs, markets, and community activities. The bicycle can help the (farmer) families overcome the barrier of distance and make it possible to transport more in less time. Bicycles are a valuable tool to increase a households' disposable income since for instance more crops can be brought to the market, more markets can be visited (due to an expanded caption area). It saves time so more time for other income generating activities (income diversification). SDG 2 A bicycle allows for better access to (food) markets and communities. Better access to markets means better access to inputs (e.g. fertilisers and quality seeds). And better opportunities to reach and sell to communities or transport grain to mills, produce to markets, milk or coffee to collection centres, etc. So instead of surplus harvest going to waste it reaches the market. An incentive and opportunity for small scale farmers to produce more, earn more and contribute to food security and make a better living. SDG 3 A bicycle generates beneficial health effects due to decreased air pollution emissions, decreased greenhouse gas emissions and increased levels of physical activity. But evenly important, or even more, a bicycle empowers the community health volunteer who are the first access to health care for the majority of people living in Africa. A health volunteer on a bicycle can visit twice as many households in a day. And is faster in case of emergencies such as child births. Hence the bicycle contributes to an improved maternal and child health. SDG 4 Access to education is a huge challenge, but the solution is simple: affordable and efficient transport. By having a bicycle, students can move faster and easily cross longer distances. The valuable time saved with a bicycle allows students to combine education and household tasks. Give girls a fair chance to follow education with a bicycle reduces the number of early school leavers through early teen pregnancies and ultimately offers opportunities for a better future. SDG 5 A bicycle improves access for women and girls to water, schools, markets, work and income. Most household chores (e.g. cooking, cleaning, collecting water and firewood) and farming tasks are considered “women’s work". It is the women who grow most of Africa’s food. By giving female farmers access to a bicycle, other household members like to assist in household chores like fetching water and firewood (unproductive pursuits). Bicycles can be used to make household chores easier and faster, freeing up girls’ time for other pursuits - including school. SDG 6 The average distance (back and forth) in developing countries to (clean) drinking water is 6 kilometers. You can travel this distance in 1 hour on foot. Often women and girls are busy more than 3-4 hours a day to get (drinking) water for the family and the farm. On the bicycle you can cover this distance in 20 minutes and more jerry cans can be transported. A saving of over 3.5 hours per day. Additionally a bicycle-powered water pump supports farmers to irrigate their farm lands faster and year-round. SDG 10 People with disabilities are a vulnerable group. They are often excluded, without access to social interaction, education, let alone that they have opportunities to generate an income themselves. By improving the mobility of disabled people by providing them with mobility aids, such as hand trikes and wheelchairs, they will have better access to social participation, education and income. Also other people who don’t have access to work and income due to distance or lack of transportation are able to pursue more opportunities and earn more with a bicycle.
SDG 11/12 Bicycles are a safe, affordable, reliable, and sustainable transport option accessible to all people. It is a sustainable and environmentally clean mode of transport that connects people, resources, and places, building inclusive, resilient, and mobile communities. SDG 13 Environmentally, a bicycle is a symbol for decarbonizing transport and societies. Bicycles are an eco-friendly means of transportation which requires no fossil fuels. It offers the possibility for immediate climate action. Governments at all levels can take action by integrating cycling into their climate action policies, strategies, education and awareness-raising.
OUR BICYCLE INTERVENTIONS INDIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO ACHIEVING ANOTHER FOUR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS SDG 7 As an energy efficient form of transport, it uses renewable human power in the most efficient way, and e-cycling offers access to the use of efficient e-mobility technology. SDG 8 The cycling sector creates more (formal and informal) jobs for the same turnover than any other transport sector. SDG 9 Increased numbers of cyclists make it easier for governments to build resilient infrastructure and sustainable transport systems for economic development and human well-being. SDG 17 The participation of all actors involved in the cycling movement supports the global partnership for sustainable development.
COOP-AFRICA.ORG Cycling out of Poverty Foundation p/a Kasteelselaan 6 • 6574 AJ Ubbergen • the Netherlands • info@coop-africa.org • Reg. no. 09167973 • IBAN/SEPA NL68 SNSB 0906146356 • BIC/SWIFT code: SNSBNL2A
Cycling out of Poverty Foundation supports students, health volunteers, farmers and small entrepreneurs with bicycles and other mobility aids to improve access to basic needs and services as education, health care, work and income.
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facebook.com/coopafrica twitter.com/coopafrica instagram.com/cyclingoutofpoverty Cycling out of Poverty Foundation Kenya • Kisumu • Kenya • info@coop-kenya.org • www.coop-kenya.org • CPR/2013/102307
We believe that a bicycle makes a difference in this world and is a huge contributor to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Our mission is to improve livelihood of African families by making bicycles and other mobility aids (such as wheelchairs, bicycle ambulances and cargo bikes) accessible and available for everyone.
Cycling out of Poverty Foundation Uganda • Cycling out of Poverty vzw Belgium • Borgerhout • Belgium • belgium@coop-africa.org • Jinja • Uganda • info@coop-uganda.org • www.coop-africa.org • 0701883882 www.coop-uganda.org • FORP0001290NB